Some Truths Are Better Kept Hidden
by Rose-Dimitri-Hathaway-Belikov
Summary: Sequel to 'School Uniform'. The VA gang have finally graduated. Rose and Dimitri finally start a life together. With a child on the way and an upcoming marriage, will it all become too overwhelming?
1. Settling in

**Sequel to 'School Uniform'. If you haven't read that then I suggest you do, otherwise this story will make no sense.**

**Okay so a quick summary:**

**The vampire academy gang have all graduated and plan on going camping for a week or two. Eddie and Viktoria are having a long distance relationship, since he is guarding Mia and Viktoria is still attending St. Vladimir's. Rose and Dimitri have told everyone about their love for each other and the works of Rose's pregnancy. Rose is a month along in her pregnancy and the hormones are getting the better of her on most days. Rose and Dimitri have been bickering more than Rose and Christian usually do. Lissa is also a month along in her pregnancy and plans to get married in Greece with Christian. Rose and Dimitri have been too busy to organise their own wedding and don't even have time to book an ultra sound. The stress of life is tugging on Rose's mind. Will she and Dimitri fall out?**

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Our camping trip got delayed a week. The queen insisted on Lissa getting settled in at court first which meant I had a week to settle into my new life with Dimitri. We moved into a casual apartment together and finished unpacking yesterday. Our apartment was a few down from Lissa and Christian's; it was taking them longer to unpack because the queen kept summoning Lissa. Right now, Dimitri and I stood by the doorway, surveying our hard work. My hands were on my hips and I sighed in relief that we were done.

"You know what comrade?" I asked

"Hm?"

"We just unpacked and now we have to find our suitcases and start packing again, that camping trip is only getting closer..." I wasn't exactly warming up to the whole camping idea. Living outdoors like that wasn't really my thing.

Dimitri turned me to face him and smiled, "This is only the start of everything we tried to ignore."

"Yeah but I still got eight months of being fat and pregnant," I muttered.

Dimitri shook his head and sighed. He really couldn't wait. He wanted our child out in the world as much as I did.

I lifted my baggy shirt to expose my small bump, "I think we'll have a boy."

Dimitri placed his hands over my stomach and his eyes lit up in wonder and joy, "I want a girl."

"Want to place a bet?" I asked

He raised an eyebrow at me; something I always thought was cool. "What kind of bet?"

His hand travelled up my side, stopping over my ribs, "Hmm." I said, walking away and pretending to think about it. "If it's a girl then you can do whatever you want with me but if it's a boy..." I turned to face him he had followed me into the middle of the living room, "I can do _whatever_ I want with you."

Dimitri regarded me through narrowed eyes for a moment and then spoke, "deal."

I smiled and he leant down, sealing our deal with a kiss. It was one of his mind blowing kisses that forced me to push him down onto the couch. I looked down at him, he was so vulnerable and his breathing was heavy as he waited for me to climb on top of him. Instead, I padded out of the living room and down the hallway to our bedroom. We had bought a two bedroom apartment so that our child wouldn't be sleeping in the living room.

"Tease," Dimitri called after me. I let out a low chuckle and grabbed my suitcase from the hallway closet.

We left to go camping tomorrow morning which meant I had lots of packing to do. Lissa had told me that we would be switching to a human schedule which made it easier for us to be guarding. Dimitri entered our room with a black duffel bag in hand, closing the door behind him. He placed the bag on our bed beside my open suitcase and we both walked into our large closet at the same time, grabbing piles of clothes and shoving them in our bags.

After about an hour of packing, talking and sharing kisses on the bed, we headed back into our living room and ordered some take-out. Well, Dimitri ordered, I headed down the hall to Lissa's apartment and ransacked some of her DVD's. Christian just stared in surprise as I barged in, took the movies and left. Dimitri and I had been living off take-out for the past week; neither of us had cooking utensils since the Academy had provided us with food. We had planned to go furniture shopping when we return from the camp trip.

I placed the movies on our dining table and went to have a shower. My muscles were sore from unpacking and bending up and down a lot. The hot water helped loosen the aches and I sighed in comfort. Eventually, the hot water ran cold so I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my body. I'm pretty sure I was in there for at least half an hour. I squeezed the water out of my hair and then walked into our bedroom, searching for something to sleep in.

Once I found my usual long grey pyjama pants and white tank top that was like second skin, showing off my baby bump, I got dressed and brushed through my wet hair, drying it with my towel. A knock on the door alerted me to the arrival of dinner. I wasn't sure what Dimitri had ordered but as I walked down the hall and into the living room, the aroma of pizza filled the air.

I smiled and sat down beside Dimitri, serving some pizza onto my plate. We ate in silence and I allowed myself to let earlier worries about the camping trip come back. I cannot believe Lewis is Lissa's other guardian... I mean, I've had all week to get used to the idea but I just couldn't. We never see him around and yet, he is always there when Lissa needs to leave the wards. It's like he is nonexistent until her safety is at risk. If he wasn't some kind of physcopath stalker then maybe I would appreciate his skills, skills that I knew he had gained from stalking women.

"Okay Rose, what's wrong? You haven't moved in the past five minutes..." Dimitri's voice cut me off from my reverie.

"I'm just thinking," I told him.

"About?" he prompted.

"Tomorrow..." Even though I didn't tell him what was really bothering me he seemed to know anyway.

"I won't let that creep breathe on you, let alone touch you," Dimitri's voice held a fierce note that I hadn't heard since he threatened Victor Dashkov.

I was still worried but Dimitri's words had given me some reassurance. He placed his arm around my shoulder and hugged me as I finished off my pizza.

The rest of the night was spent watching movies, Dimitri went to take a shower and I walked back into our bedroom after turning off all the lights. When I heard the water shut off and Dimitri walk into our room, getting dressed I climbed under the covers. Summer was just around the corner which meant it was too hot to be under a heavy blanket.

Dimitri climbed into bed beside me and reached for my hips to pull me closer. We were silent for a while and I knew Dimitri was waiting for me to fall asleep first, "Do you love me?" I asked.

"Of course I love you Rose. What kind of stupid question is that?" Dimitri sounded astonished.

"Falling in Love means letting yourself fall, even though you could get hurt. You're either going to hit the bottom or he's going to catch you. Either way, we jump." I murmured, Dimitri remained silent but hugged me closer and I drifted off into sleep, dreading our big day tomorrow.

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**Sorry this is so short but the next chapter is going to be long and I just wanted to get the story started off.**

**Hope you like it so far :)**


	2. Camping

**Sorry that I haven't updated in a while but I'm trying to live up the last week of school holidays I have.**

**I hope you enjoy this, it was fun to write and the song Rose sings is pretty funny.**

**You should search it up on youtube, it's called: the assumption song.**

**R&R, disclaimer applies.**

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"_Falling in Love means letting yourself fall, even though you could get hurt. You're either going to hit the bottom or he's going to catch you. Either way, we jump." I murmured, Dimitri remained silent but hugged me closer and I drifted off into sleep, dreading our big day tomorrow._

It was finally the day I've been dreading since graduation. I wracked through my brain, trying to recall who was going and made a list of people in my head...

_Adrian_

_Lissa_

_Dimitri_

_Eddie_

_Me_

_Christian_

_Mia_—she was a last minute addition.

_Tasha_

_Guardian Jake Connelly_—he used to work at St. Vladimir's but got promoted, he also was a last minute addition, the queen insisted he accompany as Adrian's guardian.

And last of all, _Lewis_.

That was quite a list and I tried to figure out how many people would be in each car. There were ten of us and a car could fit a total of five people which was luck on our part. We only needed two cars, both of which were packed with camping gear and our luggage.

"Hey Liss," I greeted as Dimitri and I arrived at the Royal court's main gate. The cars were waiting and people were already piling into them.

"Hey guys," she replied.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked as a gust of wind blasted into us.

"A place called Elk, it's near Pennsylvania," Lissa sighed

I rolled my eyes, "We should do a runner..."

"Rose!" Dimitri and Lissa chastised at the same time. I chuckled and headed over to one of the almost empty cars. Christian was seated in shot gun and I almost groaned at the fact that Lewis was in the back seat. Despite the fact that we were going camping out in the wilderness, the queen had given us sleek black SUV's to drive out there.

Dimitri noticed Lewis and then surveyed the situation like he would in a fight, finally after a moment he walked up to Christian, "Out." Dimitri was using his stern guardian voice and I swear I saw fear in Christian's eyes for a moment. I almost laughed as Christian scampered into the back seat and sat beside Lissa and Lewis.

Dimitri held out his hand for me and I gracefully took it, curtsying slightly, "My knight in shining armour."

"My lady," he retorted, bowing as he helped me into the car.

_You two are so sickly sweet it makes me want to brush my teeth_. Lissa said through the bond

_You've been hanging around Christian too much._ I replied, nonchalantly in my head.

Lissa laughed and everyone eyed her, "I hate it when you two do that!" Christian growled.

"Deal, firefly." I heard Lewis chuckle and it sent an unpleasant shiver down my spine, goose bumps rose on my skin.

Dimitri noticed this and reached over to hold my hand whilst he drove to the main gate and verified our departure with the guard on duty. This morning after I had taken my last shower for the next week—and believe me when I say I really enjoyed it—I had decided on wearing something loose to hide my small baby bump and picked out a floor length black maxi dress. My luggage consisted of a lot of maxi dresses of different sorts and colours and baggy t-shirts. It was funny when I concealed my stake in a garter on my thigh because Dimitri watched me with a lustful expression. I decided that my gun would be useful if we decided to do some hunting but I had nowhere to conceal it and just threw it in my suitcase instead. The roar of the wind coming through the open windows as Dimitri drove down the highway was deafening, it blocked out the god awful radio which I guess was lucky.

Three hours later and the roaring wind had died down to a gentle breeze that just rustled through my long hair. It was around midday and the sun was at its highest peak. We were driving down a dirt road at a steady pace, following behind Eddie's car. Dust swirled around the car and coated that sleek black paint in a fine layer of beige dirt. Eventually we pulled up at a secluded campsite by a freshwater creek. The sound of the water trickling was extremely relaxing and although we hadn't done much on the ride here, I was exhausted. Being pregnant was harder than it seems and I guess the whole point of this week away was to take it easy and relax.

There was a spacious grassy area and it was surrounded by trees and a small walkway that lead away from the stream and into the trees. I frowned and climbed out of the car, following the concrete pathway, dodging a few cobwebs and arriving at a small brick building. After walking around and surveying the building I was thrilled to see a sign that could only mean one thing, male and female toilets.

"Hallelujah!" I shouted in relief, hugging the brick wall. It was a little awkward when Mia appeared and stared at me like I grew a second head.

"What... the hell are you doing?" she asked in disbelief.

"Toilets!" I gasped. Mia stared at me for a moment more and then squealed in excitement, hugging the wall beside me.

We giggled when Dimitri came into view, "Uh... should I be worried?" he asked

"No, you should be relieved because now you won't have a crazy pregnant woman harassing you about there being no toilets." Mia gushed

I stepped away from the wall and watched how stupid Mia looked; I guess that was her first impression of me hugging a brick wall. Another good thing about these toilets was... a place to have sex. I swear that by the time this pregnancy is over, I'll be some sort of sex addict. Dimitri and I have only slept together twice since I graduated; we've been too busy with settling in and unpacking.

I fingered the engagement ring that was placed on ring finger but was interrupted from my thoughts when Dimitri lifted my chin to look at him, "What are you thinking about?" I looked around to see that Mia was nowhere in sight.

"Well first I was thinking that I may become a sex addict after our kid is born and then... I realised that we've been too busy to plan our own wedding," I sighed.

"If you like, we could start to get the basics done while we are out here," Dimitri offered

I smiled, "I would like that." He leant down and gave me a soft kiss before pulling back and kissing my engagement ring.

"I think we should go and help set up," I agreed with Dimitri and he pulled me back to the campsite to see that they were still pulling everything out of the vehicles. I walked up to the car and wrote a message in the dust.

'_Eddie is Rose's bitch'_

He cracked up laughing when he saw it and I felt satisfied, looking around at everyone setting up. Lissa was trying to pitch a tent and was getting frustrated so I trudged over to help her.

"Having fun, Liss," I smirked.

"Shut up." She growled, throwing the scrunched up instruction sheet at me.

I laughed, "You see? This is why we never went camping..."

After about twenty minutes everyone had their tents pitched but me and Lissa were tangled in ours, laughing our heads off. "Oh god..." I muttered when I regained control. After moving the tent poles off of me I sat up and searched for Lissa, "Liss, where are you?"

"Under here..." Her muffled voice murmured from underneath the tent. I started to laugh again and noticed that everyone was standing around our fucked up tent staring at us. I searched through the fabric, trying to uncover Liss but every time I hit a dead end, laughing even harder. Eventually, Eddie and Dimitri decided to put us out of our misery. I was still in hysterics when Dimitri lifted me off the tent and sat me on the ground.

Eddie found Lissa and she crawled over to me, laughing, "There you are!" I cheered, clapping.

We both fell back and started to laugh again. "Man, I'm never going camping again," she exclaimed. "I thought I would die under there..."

Dimitri walked over to us cautiously as Christian and Eddie got to work on fixing the tent, "I think you two should just sit out and leave the setting up to us."

I smiled at him, "Have you learned your lesson?"

"What lesson would that be?" he asked, confused.

"To never take me camping again," I held up my pinky, "you have to pinky swear on it."

Dimitri eyed my finger and then linked his own pinky with mine, "I swear to never take you camping again." He kissed my forehead before helping the others with the tent. I sighed and leant back against a large rock that Lissa was sitting on. It was then that I realised just how much time we had wasted. The sun was low in the sky and most of our campsite was set up. The cars were parked off to the left near the line of trees and the footpath that leads to the toilet block, tents surrounded the central area in a circular motion, firewood was set into a tepee for later on and surrounding the fire were four or five log seats.

The setting sun illuminated the camp under an orange glow and it didn't take long for the guys to fix up Lissa's tent. Overall, there were five tents, two people in each. Dimitri and I were sharing the first tent, closest to the footpath that leads to the toilet. Being pregnant required going to the bathroom every ten minutes. Lissa and Christian occupied the tent next to ours, also close to the toilet for Lissa's sake and everyone else grabbed random tents. I'm pretty sure the pairing ended up like this:

Tent 1: Me and Dimitri

Tent 2: Lissa and Christian

Tent 3: Adrian and Tasha

Tent 4: Mia and Eddie

Tent 5: Jake and Lewis

Once we had inflated the beds and gotten our sleeping arrangements completed it was already dark. I travelled to the toilet a few times and when I returned everyone was sitting around the nonexistent fire, apparently they were waiting for me to return before lighting it. I jumped into my sleeping bag and Dimitri zipped me up before placing me underneath his arm, hugging me close. Christian snapped his fingers and a flame formed on the end of his index finger, he touched the wood for a moment and seconds later we had a raging fire.

I sighed in comfort, maybe this was a good idea after all. The golden glow of the fire reflected off everyone's faces, it was a beautiful moment...

One that I had to ruin by asking, "What's for dinner?"

Some people groaned whilst others laughed, "Tin spaghetti," Tasha answered. I took this time to note how close she and Adrian were sitting; I smiled but then remembered what she had said.

"Eww," Liss and I whined in unison. More laughs.

Adrian pulled a stubby of beer out of the nearby esky and turned to Jake, Eddie and Lewis. "This is why men don't knock up chicks," They all toasted to that one sentence and Dimitri started to laugh. I glared at him and Adrian spoke up again, "I suggest you shutup before she puts you in the dog house, Belikov."

He continued to laugh and I wiggled away from him, crawling over to Lissa's outstretched arms. "Oh don't be like that, Roza..." The use of my Russian name stopped my actions for a moment, long enough for him to wrap his arms around my waist and pull me back.

Everyone sat in silence until Christian got a not-so-bright idea, "Let's play truth or dare..."

"We can't," I stated.

"Why not?"

"Because we are... deprived of civilisation."

He snickered, "Whatever, you in or out Hathaway?"

"Rose never backs out of truth or dare," Lissa answered for me. We high-fived.

"Alright, well who is up first?" Eddie asked

"I am," Jake volunteered. A moment of silence passed as no one rejected his offer, "Rose, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Sing a song?" He asked

I thought about this long and hard, sifting through all the songs I know... "There was an old farmer who lived on a rock. He sat in the meadow just shaking his... fist at some boys who were down by the crick. Their feet in the water, their hands on their... marbles and playthings and at half past four there came a young lady she looked like a... pretty young creature, she sat on the grass. She pulled up her dress and she showed them her... ruffles and laces and white fluffy duck, she said she was learning a new way to...bring up her children so they would not spit. While the boys in the barnyard were shovelling... refuse and litter from yesterdays hunt. While the girl in the meadow was rubbing her... eyes at the fellow, down by the dock. He looked like a man with a sizable... home in the country with a big fence out front. If he asked her politely she'd show him her... little pet dog who was subject to fit and maybe she'd let him grab hold of her... small tender hands with a movement so quick and then she'd bend over and suck on his... candy, so tasty, made of butterscotch and then he'd spread whip cream all over her... cookies that she had left out on her shelf. If you think this is dirty you can go fuck yourself." I was trying hard not to laugh by the end.

Everyone started to laugh at the wrong-ness of the song.

"Your turn," someone said when the hysterics died down.

I stared at the fire as I thought of whom to ask next, "Christian."

"Dare," He answered immediately.

I smiled and turned to him, "Lick the ground."

"What?" He asked in disgust and disappointment. Christian knew I could come up with better dares than this but the truth was, I was too tired to care.

"I didn't stutter," with a sigh, Christian leant down and licked the dirt.

"Yuck," Lissa said, "I'm not going to kiss you for the rest of the week!"

"Hooray," I cheered, half heartedly.

"Okay," Christian said whilst wiping dirt off his tongue, "My turn. Eddie, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"If you were born again, what would you like to be?"

I snorted but everyone ignored me and listened to Eddie, "Barney the dinosaur."

"He's pretty sexy," I laughed. "Didn't you and Mase like watch that all the time when we were kids?"

Eddie leant over and touched my knuckles with his own, "Hell yeah!"

"I love you, you love me. We're a happy family, with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you. Won't you say you love me too?" Adrian sung, Lissa and I burst out laughing.

"That's so lame!" I exclaimed.

"Okay so, Lewis. Truth or dare...?" Eddie said

"Um... truth?" It came out as a question and his earlier nervousness came back. Lewis was biting his nail in a stressful gesture and for a moment I kind of wondered why he was so tense.

"Who do you most admire?"Eddie asked. I knew he was asking this for my benefit, to see if he would confess.

"My brother..." Lewis answered, catching me off guard. Something about the way he said it made me think he was lying.

The game continued on and I got asked a few things, too tired to do dares. I fell asleep in Dimitri's arms, staring at the crackling orange fire.


	3. Too Good to be True

**I'm so friggin sorry!**

**I haven't updated in like forever. School has been hectic... and I am overloaded with homework.**

**I will try and post whenever I can but there are no guarantees.**

**I've also had major writers block, but I'm all sorted now.**

**Thank you for reviewing, hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**-Tas.**

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_The game continued on and I got asked a few things, too tired to do dares. I fell asleep in Dimitri's arms, staring at the crackling orange fire._

The next evening, everyone was drinking. And when I say everyone—I mean including Dimitri and excluding Lissa and I. We were annoyed about the no alcohol but it was just a sacrifice we had to make for our unborn babies. Dimitri was pretty much wasted, the first time I have ever seen him like this. Once again, we all circled around the campfire.

Tonight, someone had set up a radio and some 80's station was playing. Tasha, Adrian, Dimitri and Jake all knew the songs and did spontaneous singing. The rest of us just looked at each other like they were crazy. "You're leaving gen Y in the dark over here," I complained, holding up my hand and waving it. Lissa and I were holed up together in our sleeping bags. Christian, Eddie and Lewis were in deep conversation and the adults laughed.

"Not really, Rose," Lissa murmured. I turned towards her and saw that she was rubbing her pregnant stomach. "Jeremy used to make us listen to this."

"Yeah I guess," I agreed.

She smiled at me and the night went on pretty much the same. We had canned food for dinner again and I swear if I didn't get a decent amount of sugary foods, or rather, donuts, then I would slowly go insane. At about two a.m.—I wasn't really sure if that was the time, I was estimating—everyone went to their tents. I helped Dimitri into bed while he mumbled deliriously about me.

It was a funny sight. "Roza," He murmured, into the crook of my neck. "You are so beautiful. You're like... the world's best girlfriend ever!" His voice got louder as he spoke and I giggled. The tents walls were paper thin and I'm pretty sure everyone else could hear him.

"I thought I was your fiancé..."

"That too," He agreed.

I laughed, "I think you should get some sleep."

"Okay," He sighed, reluctantly. It was quiet for a moment. No one was speaking and all I could hear was the rustle of some trees, trickle of a nearby creek and crackle of the burnt out fire. That was until Dimitri started to move around on our air mattress. The sound of the sleeping bag moving against his skin was like ripping paper in the still night. He was trying to get closer to me, which was impossible as it is. The only way we could be closer was intimacy, and I doubt that is an option right now.

"Rose..." He moaned like a little boy who couldn't see past a crowd of people.

"Yes?"

"Come closer."

"This is as close as we can be, Dimitri," I swear that handling a drunken Dimitri was like handling a disobedient boy.

"Fine," he grumbled. I rolled my eyes in the pitch black tent. Dimitri nuzzled his face deeper into my chest and allowed me to wrap my arms around his strong build. His left hand was resting on my upper thigh while his right arm wrapped around my half naked body, pulling me tight against his bare chest. I opted to sleep in my underwear tonight because, usually, by morning it was hot. Like being in an oven.

I felt myself being pulled into a blissful sleep—until Dimitri's hand started to crawl further up my thigh. My legs clamped shut and he muttered and 'ouch' as his hand got caught. "What are you doing?" I hissed, aware that anyone not asleep could hear us through the flimsy tent walls.

Dimitri was placing sloppy kisses along my neck and tilted his head back to mesh his mouth with mine. His trapped hand wiggled free and moved to my hip. I breathed in deep through my nose and pulled out of our heated kiss. Dimitri tasted like alcohol, which made it a lot easier to pull back despite the ache in my chest. He went back to placing kisses down my neck until he reached my collarbone.

Dimitri seemed to grow tired of kissing me and lied still beside me. I thought he had given up so I relaxed my rigid legs and closed my eyes.

Apparently I was wrong.

Instead of trailing his hand up my thigh, he went straight for my underwear. I moaned out loud and quickly clamped a hand over my mouth. All my friends probably heard it and I mentally cursed. "Quit it," I said.

"Mm," He moaned. His fingers traced patterns on my underwear and I bit my lip. Huge waves of pleasure rolled over me and I squirmed in his tight hold. My hips had a mind of their own and pushed up, making his fingers dig in deeper. I sighed in pleasure. The coil in my stomach tightened as he continued his unfair foreplay. Just as I was about to scream bloody murder, he stopped. I groaned as his hand moved further away from my moistened panties.

"Dimitri," I whispered.

"Night Roza," There was a smile in his voice and I gritted my teeth, knowing he did that on purpose.

The throb of pleasure pulsed on and I squeezed my thighs together in a poor attempt to release. It didn't make much of a difference, so I managed to free one hand from my grip on Dimitri and delicately stroked my underwear. That was all it took for me to explode. I bit Dimitri's shoulder to stop a scream from escaping my throat. He held me tighter as I writhed in his arms. My pleasurable squirms eventually settled but my breathing was still laboured.

Dimitri chuckled, "That was interesting."

I scowled at him, "You are a cruel, cruel man. I'm sleeping outside!"

"Oh come on, Rose." He complained, trying to pull me back as I got out of bed. I slapped at his hands and unzipped the tent door. A warm breeze hit me and a bead of sweat ran down my throat. Pieces of my hair stuck to my face. The orgasm had caused my heart to race, and moisture built across my skin. I swiped my forehead and headed down to the creek. There was dim light in the distance, over the horizon. Apparently we had all gone to bed later than I originally thought.

The trickling creek water was cool against my heated skin and I walked in with no hesitation. I heard rustling behind me and turned to see Dimitri in all his half-naked glory. He wore only boxers—black satin ones. The dim light illuminated his features and I saw admiration shine in his eyes. He stood a few metres from the bank and watched me.

"What?" I asked, stepping deeper into the creek.

He walked towards me and trudged through the water to reach me. "You are so beautiful," I smiled. "You are like my own personal goddess."

I stopped moving when I reached waist deep water. It caressed my hot skin and felt wonderful. "I love you Dimitri," my voice sounded so sure and confident. His eyes sparkled when I said those four words. He laced his fingers with mine and pulled me out deeper, until eventually I could no longer touch the bottom. Dimitri could, however.

"I love you too, baby." He murmured in my hair and kissed my temple. I treaded water for a bit until I grew tired of it and just wrapped my arms and legs around Dimitri. "Want to go under?" he asked.

"Like, under water?"

"Yes."

"No..." I murmured cautiously. Dimitri smiled at me and had an evil gleam in his eye. He sucked in a deep breath and my eyes widen, "Nah, uh. No way!" I exclaimed.

I tried to let out a yelp but he dragged me under water before I could utter a word. The cool water felt great and it was over all too soon as he pulled me up before I realised I didn't even hold my breath. As I gasped for air, he smiled. We were both fully soaked and the hair that hung in front of his face was dripping water on to my chest. I moved his hair out of the way and kissed his wet lips. It was soft and sweet not like before. "I swear that five minutes ago you were like, wasted."

Dimitri blinked but said nothing. A moment passed before he came up with his answer, "I was not wasted! I was just... incapable of responsibility..." He sounded as guilty as he was.

"Uh huh, sure comrade."

After a nice playful swim, we sat on the creek bank and watched the sun rise. I was wrapped in Dimitri's arms and everything felt right in the world. We are going to be happily married and a have child of our own. Everything felt too good to be true, heck; it was too good to be true. My life is going to be perfect. I have Dimitri, Lissa and our child. Nothing could come between that.


	4. Chicken Picks

_I have Dimitri, Lissa and our child. Nothing could come between that._

Later that day, I awoke to the distant murmur of voices. My eyes opened and I saw that Dimitri and I had fallen asleep not far from the stream we swum in last night. Further up the small hill was our campsite. Everyone was up and seemed to be nursing a killer hangover. I chuckled quietly and Dimitri stirred from beneath me, tightening his hold around my waist.

"Rose?" he mumbled, looking up at me.

"Hey comrade," I said cheerily, knowing he had a huge hangover.

"Ugh. Too loud," he moaned. I laughed and climbed off of him. My underwear was still slightly damp from our early morning swim. Dimitri reluctantly got off the ground and tied up his hair with an elastic band that rested around his wrist.

"How do you feel?" I murmured.

"Like I've been hit by a small truck..."

I smiled and grabbed his hand, "Let's go get dressed."

We walked, hand-in-hand, up to the campsite, to be greeted with huge smirks from Adrian and Christian. I narrowed my eyes at them and kept walking towards our tent. It didn't take long for Dimitri and me to get dressed. He put on a blue flannel shirt and grey skinny jeans, while I just wore a peach coloured maxi dress. We joined everyone around the pile of ash and charcoal, which used to be our fire.

"Have fun last night?" Christian smirked.

Dimitri looked confused whereas I smiled, "Plenty."

Adrian snickered, "I heard it was... _interesting_."

"Oh," Dimitri sounded winded as he remembered everything that happened last night. He smacked his hand to his forehead and I blushed.

"Score 1 for Christian and Adrian," they high-fived and Lissa giggled. Dimitri and I looked at each other and I bit my lip. So embarrassing.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur and when night came, Dimitri decided that it was best to lay off the booze. We all circled the blazing fire, like every other night. Only, this time we decided to play a game.

"It's called, Chicken Picks," Tasha explained. Lissa groaned. We used to play this game at parties and I dominated!

"Rose is going to win!" She whined

I laughed and Lewis spoke up, "How do you play?"

"Well, since we don't have a rubber chicken, I guess we could use a stick." Tasha grabbed a stick from the ground and held it. "I'll start, and I have to choose a topic and when you have the stick, you have to name something to do with the topic. If you fail to name something then you are out. When the stick gets to Adrian, he chooses a new topic unless he wants to continue on the same topic."

Everyone nodded and she looked thoughtful. "Pick something Rose won't know anything about," said Lissa.

"Hey!" I complained.

Tasha chose, "Politics."

"Ugh!" I groaned.

She passed the stick to Adrian and he smiled, "Royal."

Lewis said, "Government."

Lissa said, "Queen."

Christian said, "Polls."

Dimitri was next, "Elections."

Then it was me. I thought hard but couldn't come up with anything, until last minute, "Council."

"Dammit, you stole mine," Eddie muttered as I passed him the stick. I laughed as he reluctantly passed it to Jake.

"Pointless," Jake said with a shrug. Damn, that was a good one. I should have said that.

Tasha passed the stick to Adrian and he thought for a moment, "Mental Institutions."

I smiled, this was a good topic.

"Crazy," says Lewis.

"Meds," Lissa said, passing the stick to Christian.

"Rose," He snickered.

"Oi!" I protested, everyone laughed.

Dimitri took the stick and wrapped an arm around me, "Insane."

When he gave me the stick I said, "Straight Jacket."

The game pretty much continued on boring topics. Until Christian got to choose. Now things got interesting.

"Hmmm, sex." He said, as if he only just thought of it.

Dimitri took the stick and hesitated, "touching."

I smiled, thinking of a million different possibilities but settled for one instead, "sexual." The way it rolled off my tongue was seductive and Dimitri bought his knees up to his chest. I'm pretty sure he was turned on. Eddie was out so the stick went straight to Jake.

"Dirty."

Tasha said, "Hot."

Adrian said, "exhausting." Most of us laughed at that.

Lewis bit his lip but couldn't think of anything, which meant he was out. Lissa opted for, "pleasure."

Christian smirked, "You want to keep going Belikov?"

"Um..." I nodded at him, "Okay?" It came out as a question and I rolled my eyes.

"Well you're up," Christian said, handing over the stick.

"Arousing..." The way that word laced with his Russian accent made me want to do crazy things.

"Wet," I breathed, handing the stick to Jake. A low growl emitted from Dimitri as he stared into my eyes. I smiled seductively before I realised the stick had already reached Adrian. He said something about being 'hard' and everyone laughed, but I was too caught up in mine and Dimitri's own world to care.

I nuzzled my face into Dimitri's chest and he held me close. His knees were still pulled up and anyone sitting around us wouldn't be able to see Dimitri's excitement. However, I could. I bit my lip as I realised my hand that wasn't wrapped around his torso, rested near the waistband of his jeans. Dimitri must have noticed it long before me because he tried to reposition his hips so that my hand was further away. It did no good.

My hand fell limply over his pelvis and he sucked in a jagged breath of air. I resisted the urge to laugh at his reaction and teasingly rubbed the material just above his jeans zipper. Another growl emitted from him and I know he couldn't control himself much longer.

Seeing the stick being passed to Dimitri was like being splashed with cold water. We snapped out of our public grope and Dimitri changed the sex topic too animals. I laughed and said nothing, making me out. Perfect. Time to put my plan into action.

I pulled away from Dimitri and walked to the toilet block. It was dark and hard to dodge all the cobwebs, but I managed. My Dhampir sight adjusted eventually. When I reached the dark toilets, I flicked on the light switch inside of them and stood in front of the dirty mirror. It was rusting around the edges and my reflection was dusty.

A majority of the dust came off the mirror when I swiped my hand across it. After washing my hands thoroughly, I heard rustling and then footsteps. In the mirror I saw Dimitri approach me from behind. "That was very mean, Roza..." He breathed in my hair. His arms wrapped around my waist and placed his hands over my very small baby bump. Dimitri's nose nuzzled into my hair and he closed his eyes, murmuring in Russian.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"Nothing you don't already know," he breathed. I just stared at his reflection and waited for him to answer properly but he didn't.

"I can't wait to go home," I whispered, closing my eyes and placing my hands over his.

"Hmm, me too."

Dimitri turned me around slowly and captured my lips with his. My love for this man grew every day to the point where I would explode if I don't profess it.

"Let's plan our wedding..." I said out of the blue.

Dimitri looked annoyed at the interruption of our kiss. "Now?"

"Now."


	5. Darkness

**This story will be put *ON HOLD* until further notice.**

**I'm going to upload another chapter during the next week or so and then I won't update for a while.**

**The year is almost over and I have a ton of stuff to do.**

**I'm sorry, and I hope you don't lose interest.**

**Please review and tell me if you are still reading and interested :)**

* * *

"_Now."_

Dimitri sighed and said, "Okay, what do you want to do first?"

I smiled at how disappointed he looks. Heading over to one of the toilet cubicles I said, "You know... we could always do it later, I guess."

My voice was seductive and husky, luring him in until finally I had him right where I wanted him. My fingers played with the straps of my maxi dress, slowly slipping them down my shoulders. The dress landed in a pool around my feet and I placed my hands on my hips. Dimitri walked over to me, wearing an expression of pure lust and desire.

His hands gripped my hips and I wrapped my arms around his neck with a cheeky smile. He ravaged my lips with his own and it was then that I realised how much he needed me. We hadn't had sex in a while and I had some of a release last night, which meant that tonight was Dimitri's turn. I rubbed my hips against him and he moaned out-right.

I soon realised that this could be very loud and illustrated so I shut the cubicle's door and turned the lock. Dimitri pressed himself up against me and I turned to face him again. His excitement pressed against my thigh and his fingers ran up and down my thighs teasingly. The moment his fingers found my sex I pushed his hand away.

He frowned and kissed me instead. I used my free hand to stroke him teasingly through his jeans. "Roza," he moaned. I unbuttoned his flannel shirt and ran my hands down his well-toned chest, never breaking our passionate kiss. When I reached the zipper of his jeans I undid it painfully slow, one tooth at a time. Dimitri pushed his hips into my hand in a way to hurry me up but it only made me go slower.

He pulled back and stared at me with lust-filled eyes and heavy breathing. I kissed across Dimitri's jaw and down his neck, nibbling his collar bone softly. He held me tighter as I continued to kiss down his chest and stomach. I knelt down and finished unzipping his jeans before pulling them down his legs. Dimitri pushed me up against the door and kicked his pants off as he ravaged me in kisses. I moaned as he fondled my breasts but then pushed his hands away.

I didn't want to get carried away on his night. So instead of letting him feel me up, I pushed him back. Dimitri looked startled that I didn't want him touching me, but suddenly caught the gist of what I am about to do when I got down on my knees. Dimitri's hands found my hair and he ran his fingers through it as I pulled his boxers down slowly.

After a moment I had Dimitri moaning in pleasure. I played with him like he had done to me last night. He moved his hands from my hair and leant against the cubicle door. A constant string of Russian flowed from his mouth and his eyes stayed closed.

"Roza..." he moaned before finally being taken over the edge. I swallowed everything Dimitri gave me before pulling away and straightening out my clothes. Dimitri leant his forehead against the door and mumbled deliriously in Russian. I smiled and figured that I must have done a good job. It was the first time I've ever given someone oral, and it was exhilarating for me just as it is for him.

Dimitri looked at me and shook his head with a small smile. I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips. He got dressed slowly and we both froze when we heard the most horrible noise.

"Rose?" Crap. It was Lissa.

Mine and Dimitri's eyes met and I quickly walked out of the toilet cubicle and left Dimitri in there. I washed my face and turned around just as Lissa came into view. "Hey Liss," I smiled. My voice was hoarse and I tried to clear it.

She looked at me cautiously. "You okay? Where's Dimitri?"

"I'm fine," I replied before jerking my thumb in the direction of the cubicle and mouthing 'toilet'.

Lissa nodded, still weary. "Okay. Well I just wanted to make sure you hadn't fallen in the toilet or anything."

I laughed nervously. "I'm fine, a little tired I guess."

"Yeah, me too. Can't wait to get back home," said Lissa.

I nodded in agreement and told her I would be back at the camp in a moment or two. Once she was out of ear shot Dimitri walked out and we looked at each before bursting out laughing.

"Come on, Rose. Let's go to bed..."

...

Days passed until finally it was time to go home. Lissa and I were relieved. It was unfair to have two pregnant women living off canned food and having to bathe in the creek. The drive home seemed longer than the drive home and the moment Dimitri and I reached our bedroom I yelled, "Bed! Oh thank god, I'll never take you for granted again!"

Dimitri's chuckle was the first thing I heard before I instantly fell asleep.

...

I woke in the middle of the night with an agonising pain. It seemed to run all over my body but centred on my stomach. I groaned and shot up in bed. My body was wrapped in blankets and the air conditioning was turned on. Another pain hit and I hissed into the still night.

"Dimitri," I moaned, nudging him. "Wake up."

He opened his eyes, "Rose? What's wrong?"

"It hurts," I whimpered.

Dimitri shot up, realising that this was serious. He got dressed in under three seconds and pulled the blankets away from me. I gasped at the sight in front of me. Blood. Crimson red liquid soaked my pants and the bed sheets. "Oh my God," Dimitri said in shock.

"What's... Dimitri, what is going on?" I panicked.

"It's alright Roza." He scooped me up in his arms and practically ran out of our apartment. "Everything will be okay..."

I didn't believe a word he said and was about to protest but instead I was hit with another pain. More blood exited my body and I could feel myself growing dizzy. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the red dripping down Dimitri's arm and on to the blue hospital floor.

...

When I woke up, everything was a blur. People scurried around me hurriedly and frantic voices sounded to me ears. A bright light was blinding my already damaged vision and I felt light headed. An annoying beeping sound beat away beside me and when I turned my head I saw that it was a heart monitor. My mind was jumbled and confused. Where am I?

Suddenly I could feel myself start to spasm. "We're losing her!" A panicked voice shouted. It was feminine and the last thing I heard before darkness once again.

**DPOV**

Rose had passed out on the way to the clinic. Her crimson blood covered my left arm and half my shirt, but that was irrelevant right now. Rose—my Roza—was lying on an operation table, barely alive. I was going into shock and I could feel myself start to shake. Although I was feeling worried, panicked and grief-stricken, nothing could prepare me for the three words that made my heart stop.

"We're losing her!"

Rose's body started to fit and the heart monitor went flat. "Rose!" I shouted, trying to push past some doctors.

"I'm sorry," they said, "you can't be in here!"

It took four of the Moroi doctors to push me out of the room and into a waiting bay. I paced franticly up and down the hall, glancing at the closed door every few seconds. It was the middle of the night and no one was here so I guess it just didn't matter if I freaked out.

I don't know how long I waited, an hour, or maybe two. I had resorted to sitting down a while ago but I couldn't stop my leg from bouncing up and down. It was hard to just sit here and do nothing when I know that on the other side of that door, someone is dying. Whether it is Rose or the baby, I wasn't sure.

But what I do know is that if I had to choose between the two of them, I would choose Rose. You can't miss something you don't have, and I definitely have Rose. She has been in my life for the past year and we can always try again for another kid. As I sat and contemplated what could happen, the door opened.

I shot out of my seat but the doctor gestured for me to calm down. "How is she?" I asked.

"The good news is that Rose is stable and awake. We managed to sedate her and she will be fine... However, I do have some bad news." The doctor look sympathetic but I just couldn't push away the burst of relief I felt when he said that Rose would be okay. "Rose had a miscarriage. We couldn't find a heartbeat and even if we had the blood loss would have been too low to keep the baby alive. You can try again in a few months, when the emotional and physical scars are healed, but for now she should take things easy... I'm sorry for your loss."

Even though I felt relieved for Rose, I couldn't stop that pang of guilt and heartbreak over losing our child. Had I jinxed its life by wishing that Rose would make it through this instead? An overwhelming sense of guilt almost bought me to tears. I couldn't cry though, I need to be strong, for Rose.

"Can I see her?" I whispered. The doctor nodded and I briskly walked into the room.

Rose was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The sight of her broke my heart even more, if that was possible. She was pale and weak. Her eyes seemed miles away and I know that she is taking this hard. I sat beside her wordlessly and grabbed her hand in mine. Rose's hand was cold and shaking.

I didn't want to say anything, afraid that she will turn on me. After a moment of strong emotional silence she spoke:

"They said that there was nothing they could have done. That it was a tragic event." Her voice was empty and held no emotion at all.

"We can try again in a few months, okay?" I said.

Rose shook her head, "Why? So I can kill that one too?"

I looked at her in shock. "Roza, this wasn't your fault."

"It may as well have been. The doctor said that it... died... from lack of nutrients in foods. Dimitri, we had been living off canned food for a whole week. I should have known that I needed proper food."

"Rose," I said sternly, "there is nothing you could have done. Please don't blame yourself for this."

She remained quiet and pulled her hand from mind. "I want to get some sleep. If you don't mind."

Her voice was hard and I knew that I had put her in some sort of shut down. When Rose got like this, it was nearly impossible to have a conversation or any sort of contact with her.

I just hope she snaps out of it soon.


	6. Two Months

_I just hope she snaps out of it soon._

**RPOV**

It's been two months since I had a miscarriage. Three weeks ago I underwent surgery to remove the deceased child from my stomach. A nasty looking scar now rests across my midriff, about three or four inches long. I refused to let Lissa heal it. I kept it as a reminder of the child I would never get to love. I refused to cry and have been revelling in my own depression and pain, blocking out anyone trying to help me. Lissa and Christian gave up trying to make me happy after the first month. Dimitri, however, took more persuading.

He told me we could try again for another baby. But... I don't want that. I knew he was just as heartbroken as I am, but Dimitri was always better at hiding his feelings behind that stupid guardian mask. When he returned home from work, he would greet me with a kiss or a hug, some affectionate type of greeting. But I pushed him away. Again and again. After a few weeks of continuously not wanting his comfort, he stopped. Lately, he has been hanging around Tasha whilst I lock myself up in our house and stare at the turned off television.

I knew that I would never recover from my loss, just like I never recovered from losing Mason, but it would become easier. For the past week, I tried to build up courage to let Dimitri in and I think that today I might have the triumph I was searching for. The pain in my chest is something I've grown to live with and I knew that Dimitri would lessen the pain to the point where it would disappear. He was slipping from my loose grip and it hurt me deeply. All the pain is my own fault.

The front door of our apartment opened and closed softly. Dimitri entered the room and saw me sitting on the couch. "Hey Rose," he murmured.

I had the urge to just nod and block him out again, but that wouldn't help. So I turned to face him. "Hey," It was only a whisper but I knew he heard it because shock registered on his face. I never made direct eye contact with Dimitri anymore but now that I have, I couldn't look away.

A fleeting look of hope, love, need and compassion crossed his normally stoic face. He took a step closer and asked, "How are you?"

"I'm okay," this was the first conversation we've had since I lost our child. For the first time those two words seemed to be telling the truth. Normally the words, broken, depressed, upset, careless, would have been used to describe me. But I'm not happy and I'm not depressed. I'm okay.

A small smile kissed Dimitri's lips and a mixture of feelings swirled around in my chest. A lump formed in my throat and I could no longer hold back the tears of grief. My vision blurred and I couldn't see straight. When the tears spilled down my cheeks I could see clearer.

"I hurt..." I said in a broken whisper. Sobs built and Dimitri didn't hesitate in scooping me up in his arms.

We sat for a long time as I cried into his chest. Two months of depression poured out of me and I cried loudly. Dimitri stayed with me the whole time and muttered soothing words. This was the first physical contact we'd had in four weeks. The blazing ache in my chest dulled a lot as my tears and sobs subsided. I'm pretty sure we had sat there for at least two hours.

Exhaustion was the main reason that I stopped crying, and also the fact that my body could no longer produce tears. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"There is nothing to be sorry for Roza," the use of my Russian name seemed to heal a small part of me.

"I love you. And... I pushed you away when I needed you most. I felt like I lost you too."

"You didn't lose me, Rose. I'm always going to be here for you. I love you and I'm too selfish to let you go," he murmured into my hair.

I smiled and looked up at him. "I hope you stay selfish then."

His eyes sparkled like diamonds. "Anything for you, Moya Sladyaka."

I wrinkled my nose up and said, "That sounded like an insult, comrade."

Dimitri's chuckle made my heart beat faster, and that's when I knew that someday everything would be okay.

"I want to go see Lissa," I told Dimitri.

"Of course," he murmured, keeping an arm wrapped around my waist and pulling me out the door.

It was a short walk down the hall and a knock on the door that alerted Lissa to our presence. As she opened the door I was greeted with an expression of shock. "Rose," she whispered in disbelief. Before I could say anything, I was wrapped in her arms. Lissa held me tight and I felt the familiar hot and cold tingle of spirit. When we pulled apart I lifted my shirt to see that she had healed my scar.

"Thank you," I murmured. She smiled and invited us in.

"Sorry about the mess!" Lissa apologised as I froze in the living room. It looked like a bomb went off. Bridal magazines, diary planners and papers covered every flat surface.

Dimitri pulled me over to the couch, which was a wonder how he even found it under all this mess. "What happened here?" I breathed.

I got pulled onto Dimitri's lap since there wasn't much sitting room. "Our wedding is what happened." Christian said as he walked into the room, "Hey Rose. Good to see you out and about."

I smiled at him and Lissa groaned, "Christian get out. You can't see this stuff!"

Dimitri chuckled as Christian rolled his eyes and left. "So, Rose... want to hear what I've planned?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dimitri slightly shake his head at me. I laughed and decided to have some fun, "Sure!"

My lover groaned and rested his forehead on my shoulder. He must have heard it all before. "Okay, so it's going to be a beach wedding. I've picked out a few colours that I want to use but I can't decide on which one, which is where you come in. Oh, and also, I found some really pretty bridesmaid dresses. There are three of them and you get first pick. I've also asked Mia and Tasha to be bridesmaids so they will be coming to Greece with us..."

And on it went. Lissa explained the new plans she had come up with and I helped her out with some things or gave my own ideas. We sat for hours and I'm pretty sure Dimitri fell asleep underneath me, but I didn't want to move from his warm grip and find out. I was too comfortable.

"So, who is going to give you away?" I asked.

"Um, yeah. I was thinking and... Maybe you could do it?" Lissa said nervously. "I mean, you are family and I can't even remember a life without you."

I smiled, "Liss I would love too. It would mean the world to me."

She smiled and pulled me into a tight hug. "Then its sorted. Tomorrow we should go and get the bridesmaid dresses and look for my own."

"Sure," I agreed. "Well, it's getting late. I should probably go."

Lissa agreed and helped me wake up Dimitri. He was groggy but the moment we arrived at our apartment he was wide awake. "Did you get everything sorted?" he said with a yawn.

"Yeah. We're going shopping tomorrow and the wedding is going to be in two weeks." I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water.

Dimitri walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I missed you Roza."

I knew what he meant. He missed the old me. The person I was before I went all 'zombie-Rose' for two months. "I missed you too," I murmured, turning and hugging him. "Let's go to bed. I'm exhausted." It was about midnight and the sun was bright outside our windows.

"_Da_." Dimitri said in Russian. I frowned at him, "yes." He translated. Obviously being tired messed up his capability of English.

We both settled into bed after separate showers and for the first time in eight weeks we slept in each others embrace.

* * *

**I'm working on the wedding chapters. I have great ideas for them**

**Does anyone have any ideas what I could write about between now and the wedding? Or should I just skip it and go straight to Greece?**

**I really need your help.**

**-Tas**


	7. Internal Thoughts

**Sorry it took so long to update, but I had like five assigments due and exams are next week.**

**Also my computer was being retarded and the internet was down.**

**But anyway, the chapter is here now and that is all that matters. I'm sorry that this chapter is so short, but I'm planning the upcoming wedding and just want to get to it quickly. I also have great ideas for Rose and Dimitri's wedding, and I want to get Janine back in the story, and maybe some Abe too :)**

**Anywaayy, hope you enjoy. Please review. I don't really know if anyone is reading this anymore and I'm kind of losing inspiration...**

_

* * *

_

_We both settled into bed after separate showers and for the first time in eight weeks we slept in each other's embrace._

The next day Lissa and I rounded up Tasha and Mia so that we could go dress shopping. We have been sitting in the bridal shop for at least four hours, watching Lissa try on dresses. After the fifth hour she came out in a beautiful floor length white gown. It was simple and elegant with a small train.

"Wow," I breathed. Lissa smiled at my reaction. "It's perfect..."

"You really think so?" Lissa asked.

"Yes!" Tasha, Mia and I said in unison. Lissa blushed and bought the dress. Afterwards, we decided to buy our bridesmaid dresses tomorrow. Mia walked Lissa home whereas Tasha and I had other plans. Snickering, we walked to a lingerie shop not far from the bridal store. Lissa had no idea what we were going to do and so we had Mia distract her.

The moment we stepped foot in the door a skinny Moroi girl was on us like flies on a pile of shit. "Hello, welcome. How can I help you?"

"We're... going to be spending a lot of money." Tasha replied, smiling at her.

"Oh," she said in surprise. "Anything in particular? Something for someone special?"

"Our friend is getting married soon and we need to find the perfect lingerie for a honeymoon," I told the red-head girl.

"Certainly. And how raunchy should it be? On a scale of 1 to 10."

"7," Tasha and I said in unison. We both laughed and the red head lead us over to a rack of sexy outfits, negligees, garter belts, thongs and corsets with thigh stockings and suspenders. Tasha's eyes widened. Obviously, she has never been in a lingerie store before.

"If you need any help don't be afraid to ask," red said to us.

"Oh we won't," I breathed with a devious smile. I loved going lingerie shopping, even if it isn't for me. It was like having a break from my normal self and awakening the dark and sexy side; the side that Dimitri would love to play with sometime.

"Where do we start?" Tasha asked.

"There," I said pointing to some harmless looking underwear, "then we work our way up to the more... revealing pieces."

Tasha chuckled and followed me over to the rack of lacy panties and matching bras. We worked in silence and occasionally pulled out a pretty pair and asked each other for our opinion. Tasha had picked out two sets and I had picked out three. After a while we moved on to the sexier garments and began to sort through them.

"Um... Tasha?" I said hesitantly.

"Hm?"

"I want to thank you."

"For what?" she said in confusion.

"For being there with Dimitri when I couldn't," a lump formed in my throat and I quickly shut my eyes, willing the sting of tears to go away.

"Oh Rose, honey. You were both going through a rough patch and neither of us blames you for being so distant." She hugged me gently.

I wiped away some traitor tears and said. "I know, but I just feel so responsible and guilty. Dimitri was going through the same pain as I did, and I didn't even stop once and just think how much he needed me. How much we needed each other."

"Well hey," Tasha said with a small smile. "You have each other now, and I do understand that you never lost each other in the first place. Sometimes couples just need a break from each other, you know? And I know that you and Dimka will always come back stronger than ever."

"Thank you," I whispered, smiling. I never realised how much faith she had in our relationship. "For everything."

"It's nothing, really."

After our heart warming conversation, we continued on picking out negligees for Lissa. I also bought a white and gold garter belt for the wedding and nice white lacy underwear for Liss to wear underneath her dress. It was a good thing that we are such good friends and know each other's clothes, underwear and cup size.

Her cup size, however, had grown. It's been three months since we graduated from St. Vladimir's and Lissa is now four months pregnant. Her stomach had expanded to the size of a large watermelon. A pang of envy and jealousy shot through me when I thought about it. Everything always went smoothly and perfectly for Lissa, whereas I'm the complete opposite. I'm always stuck in the rough patch and things never go my way.

The best thing in my life is Dimitri, and even our relationship is strained after the miscarriage. It was sad and slightly depressing to think of how messed up my life is, and no matter how hard I try to get it back on track, things never go right. I never had the best of friends at school, I flunked almost all of my classes, and Dimitri and I are torn apart by the purest of love and the strongest of isolation, not to mention my relationship with my mother.

Suddenly, it was like I couldn't breathe. My mother! I hadn't seen her since Dimitri and I had both technically died and had an uncalled-for fight in the gym. We departed on the wrong note and... I kind of miss her. She has no idea of anything that has happened in the past three months.

She doesn't know that I am with Dimitri romantically, doesn't know that I was pregnant and had a miscarriage and most definitely doesn't know that I'm getting _married_ to my former _mentor_! God. She is going to have a cow—and various other farm animals, when she hears about this.

Poor Dimitri. He is most likely going to end up with multiple fractures, breakages, bruises and definitely some internal bleeding. My mother's emotions are like a rollercoaster. Unpredictable and extremely scary. Sometimes she can take you by surprise and be joyful—happy, even. Then other times she can be dark, twisted and utterly... pissed off. I'm not exactly sure when I'm going to tell her everything, but one thing I do know for sure is that it'd best be over the phone. That way she can't bring physical harm to Dimitri... or me.

Tasha and I payed for the huge amount of garments and walked back to our apartments. Dimitri raised an eyebrow at me when I shoved the five white bags in our hallway cupboard. I smiled at him and let out a breath of relief.

I walked over to Dimitri and placed a kiss on his lips. He sat on the couch, reading a western novel—of course. "Hey comrade," I said, slightly breathless.

"How are you?" he asked, setting his book aside.

"I'm great. But... I do have one little disturbing thought."

Dimitri pulled me down onto the couch next to him and wrapped his arms around me, "Oh? And what's that?"

"We haven't spoken to my mother in a while..." His eyes widened and his posture turned stiff. Definitely the reaction I was looking for.


	8. Viktoria

**I would like to thank my...**

**Aussie, American, English, Canadian, German, Singapore, Slovenian, Irish, Brazilian, Mongolian, Indian, Kiwi, Phillipino, Polish, Puerto Rican, Greek, Mexican, Spanish, Netherlands, Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Venezuelan, Iran, Hungary, Portugal, South African, Chinese, Indonesian, Argentinian, Hong Kong, Belgium, Malaysian, Italian and Israel**

**...readers for sticking with my poorly updated story. I want to wish every each and one of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.**

**I don't know when my next update will be, but most likely not until the start of 2011. I'm very busy and I felt terrible for not updating.**

**So here it is, my super long chapter. It has 1,000 more words than the last one I wrote. Think of it as an early Christmas present :)**

**Please read and review, I would much appreciate knowing that you are still interested in my story. I've had huge writers block and suggestions are very welcome.**

* * *

"_We haven't spoken to my mother in a while..." His eyes widened and his posture turned stiff. Definitely the reaction I was looking for._

Dimitri and I both woke up surprisingly late the next morning and walked out into our living room. He eyed the lingerie bags that I had left in the hallway closet. A perfectly arched eyebrow rose at me.

"For Lissa," I explained nonchalantly. Suddenly the door burst open and in came Mia and Tasha.

"Rose we're organising a—oh, sorry." Mia blushed a little when she saw Dimitri shirtless.

"Dimka, go get dressed!" Tasha chastised like someone's mother and I had to hold back laughter. Dimitri walked into our bedroom, muttering in Russian. "Hey, I heard that!" she shouted after him. His chuckle was heard before the door shut.

"Okay, so what are we organising?" I asked.

"Lissa's bachelorette party. We're going to hold it the night before the wedding, just like tradition says we should. We're going to be arriving in Greece four days before the wedding, which means we can sort all the plans out now and then when we get there we'll have three days to finalise everything." Mia explained in a rush. Dimitri returned just as she finished.

Excitement burst through me and I squealed. It was a very un-Rose like gesture and Dimitri stared at me in disbelief. "Did I wake up in some freaky alternate universe this morning?" He asked, cautiously.

I giggled, yet another un-Rose like gesture. Dimitri continued to stare in disbelief. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, comrade." Mia, Tasha and I all took a seat at the rarely used dining table. Mia had a notebook with some dot points already written down. She was freakishly organised. "Maybe we did wake up in an alternate universe," I joked.

Mia scowled at me, "Ha-Ha, you are so funny."

Dimitri disappeared into the kitchen and Tasha gave me a run-down on ideas. "Okay so we have a guest list already organised. So far, we got four people... I know it's not very big but Lissa doesn't have many close friends. She usually just spends all her time with you."

I nodded, "Okay, who else is coming other than us?"

"Just Viktoria," Tasha murmured.

"That's great. So there will be five of us," I smiled. They both nodded. Just then, Dimitri returned, biting into a piece of buttered toast and handing me my own. "Thanks."

He sat beside me, "So what are you organising?"

No one answered him and instead Mia said, "Tasha sent Viktoria on the first plane to court." She looked at her wrist watch, "She should arrive here in an hour or so." Dimitri almost choked on his toast.

"My sister is coming?" His eyes were wide.

"Yes, and she will be flying to Greece with us too." Tasha explained.

Dimitri was happy that he got to see his sister again. "But what about her schooling?"

"Dimka, Christmas is in four weeks. They are already on break." Tasha sighed.

"Oh," He answered lamely.

Mia, Tasha and I all conversed on party plans until it came time to go pick up Viktoria. Everyone waited for me to get dressed. Franticly searching through my clothes, I realised I didn't have much to wear. After thirty minutes of stressing, Dimitri walked in.

"Rose, what are you doing?" He asked.

"I can't—don't worry." I grumbled, annoyed. Dimitri sighed and walked into our closet, pulling out one of his flannelette shirts and a pair of my ripped skinny jeans.

"Wear this," He kissed my forehead as he handed me the clothes, "and hurry."

Once I was dressed and my hair was brushed I grabbed some cream coloured UGG boots and slipped them on. "Let's go," I said to the bored trio waiting for me.

"Finally!" Mia exclaimed. I hit her arm and Tasha laughed. Dimitri laced his fingers with mine and we all walked down to the airstrip. It was seasonably cool and you could tell that it would start snowing in the next few days or so.

On the way there Dimitri received a phone call and when he hung up, a look of remorse crossed his face. "You got called into work again, didn't you?" I sighed.

Dimitri met my eyes and we stopped walking, Tasha and Mia were oblivious and kept going. "Roza, I'm so sorry. One of the guardians that patrols the gate has been injured and... Since the miscarriage you haven't gone back to work. I need to take this shift, Rose. We need the money."

I felt guilty for not helping Dimitri support us financially. "No, it's fine. You go. I'll spend the day with Viktoria," I smiled and tried to ease the look of regret on his face. It didn't budge but he reluctantly left me and quickly jogged to the guardian building. After he disappeared I sighed and caught up with Mia and Tasha.

"Where did Dimitri go?" Mia asked, looking around.

"He has a shift."

"I thought he might have had the day off," Tasha murmured, nonchalantly. She was peering around and didn't seem that interested to where Dimitri disappeared too.

"Yeah me too, but he just got called in. Apparently he has to cover someone's shift," I said, not bothering to hide how much I disliked the idea.

"It must be hard," Mia murmured, "I mean, both of you being guardians. I could never do it, you're strong Rose. In more ways than one."

I smiled at Mia; she is hardly ever sweet and sensual. Her personality reminded me of Christian. Snarky, sarcastic, funny and deep down there is a soft side. Before I could return her nice compliment, a loud roar filled the air. We all looked up in unison to see one of the Academy's planes flying toward the airstrip. It took an overall of ten minutes to land and stop all together. When the doors opened a few novices came piling out and immediately dispersed, but what really caught my attention was the ball of energy that bounded off the plane and into my arms.

"Oomph!" I said.

"Rose!" Viktoria squealed in delight. "I missed you so much. You have no idea how boring the Academy is without you!"

I chuckled. "I'm pretty sure I do. After all, I am the life of the party." I saw Mia role her eyes and had to laugh at that. Vika pulled back and smiled at me but then seemed to notice something was wrong—or rather missing. She looked down at my stomach. _Oh no_, I thought. _Here it comes_.

"You're what? Three, four months along? Shouldn't you be all bloated and stuff... I mean, when Sonya was pregnant at that time, she was huge—" Viktoria cut off mid sentence. She obviously saw my expression of pain, "Oh God." She whispered. "You... you lost it, didn't you? Oh Rose, I'm so sorry. I can't believe I bought it up—"

"It's fine," I said, smiling. Tears threatened to build up in my eyes but I stubbornly pushed them away. "You didn't know."

"But I still should have—"

"Really, Vika. It's fine. Now, I would like you to meet someone." I turned Viktoria around to face Mia and Tasha. "This is Mia, a close friend of mine. You guys have a lot in common and I'm sure you will be the best of friends." I smiled at Mia and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm Viktoria, but you can call me Vika," Viktoria said warily. I think she still felt bad for mentioning my miscarriage. It still hurt deep down but I would not let it conquer me. Dimitri and I could always have another child, maybe it was fate telling us that it was too soon or we weren't ready. Hell, I can barely get out of bed in the morning for my job. Dimitri is the one supporting me at the moment and I hardly ever see him because he is always on shift. Besides, now that I well and truly think about it, I'm only eighteen. What kind of eighteen year old has a child so young?

Dimitri is turning twenty-five a few days before Christmas, but he is still young. Juggling a child in between our frowned-upon relationship and demanding jobs would be extremely hard. What if something were to happen to both of us? Our child would be left an orphan and grow up, never really knowing its parents. But no matter how negative I am right now, I realised something. All this time I blamed myself for losing our baby, and I guess in a sense it was kind of my fault for not consulting a doctor before our camping trip, but no matter the stress and pain I put myself through, self-pity won't get me anywhere.

I need to forgive and forget. Sure, maybe I won't ever forget something so depressing, but I can try. And try is what I will do. Somewhere deep down it occurred to me that in that moment of revelation and peace, I truly forgave myself. There was nothing I, or Dimitri, could have done to bring it back. We can't cry because our baby is gone, we have to smile because my pregnancy happened. I know that someday, we will look back on the memories of my first pregnancy and smile. No matter how painful and devastating it had been. The day that I finally let Dimitri in, after two months of self isolation, was a turning point for me. And Viktoria helped me realise it.

"Hello? Earth to Rose!" Vika said sceptically, shaking me slightly.

"Huh?"

"She speaks! Hallelujah!" Mia rejoiced. I threw a scowl her way but she knew that I was laughing on the inside.

"I said, would you like to help me settle into guest housing. I've never been to the Royal Court before and you know your way around." I focused my gaze back on Viktoria and smiled.

"Sure, let's go." I grabbed her suitcase and wheeled it along behind me as she linked her arm with mine. We made small talk as we walked but I eventually gave up. Viktoria was too enthralled by her elegant surroundings. I had been the same at some point in my life.

After we got her checked in, Mia and Tasha left us to run some errands. I helped Vika get settled in and unpack. The first thing she went to was the huge king sized bed. "I died and went to heaven!" She exclaimed.

I laughed. "Well if you're in heaven then where am I, because I'm certain that God wouldn't accept me there."

"God, shmod!" She said with an eye roll. "If he doesn't accept you there than he must be insane. And I'm pretty sure insanity isn't accepted in heaven, therefore God would no longer be in charge."

"How much have you thought about that?" I said, slightly stunned but amused. She just shrugged and starts to unpack her clothes.

"So, have you and Dimka figured out when you're going to get married?" She said in light conversation.

I shrugged, "everything has been so hectic with Lissa's wedding, Dimitri's up-coming birthday and Christmas. We haven't really had enough time to talk about it."

"Speaking of my brother, where is he?"

"Work. He wanted to see you," I smiled when I remembered how excited he was. "But on the way to the airstrip, he got called in to cover a shift. Dimitri couldn't say no. We need all the money we can get, especially with me not working."

Vika frowned, "why aren't you working?"

It felt good to vent out all my pent-up thoughts with someone other than Dimitri, who was sharing the same problems. Lissa had been so stressed and busy over her wedding and I didn't want to burden her. I was getting a huge load off my chest by talking to Viktoria. "I was on maternity leave while I was pregnant and after the miscarriage I just couldn't be bothered to return to work. The guardians still think I'm pregnant, so I'm using up all the vacation while I can. I only have two months left of it anyway. That's enough time to get through a wedding, birthday and Christmas before finally being enslaved back into guarding."

"Makes sense," she reasoned.

"DO you want to go shopping with me?" I asked. "Dimitri and I are going later on. We need to buy some kitchen appliances and I also figured that it would be a great time to buy some stuff for Lissa's bachelorette party, maybe even some really cute dresses. Maybe one tight enough to knock Eddie's socks off," I winked.

Viktoria's eyes widened in excitement. "Eddie! Oh, can I see him? We've been talking over the phone a lot but it just isn't the same."

I pulled out my phone and dialled Eddie's number. "Castile," he answered.

"Ed, it's Rose. Come to the guest housing, room number 248. I have a surprise for you." With that, i hung up. All we had to do now is wait. Vika was practically jumping out of her jeans in excitement. The moment we heard a knock on the door I jumped up and pranced over to the door, slowly opening it to reveal a stunned Eddie.

Then it all happened so fast, "Vika!" He picked her up and kissed her multiple times, from her lips, to her cheeks, forehead and down her neck.

"I missed you," she whispered into his neck and hugged him tight. I smiled at the happy couple.

They started to kiss and the moment it got a little too R rated for my liking. I said, "If I wanted to watch free porn then I'd walk over to Lissa and Christian's. I bet they're going at it like rabbits on the sofa." The couple broke apart and turned to look at me before bursting out in laughter. "I'm going to go and give you guys some privacy," I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively, "and don't worry. What happens in this room, stays in this room. Dimitri will never find out."

Eddie looked relieved, which was so funny I couldn't even laugh. He must be holding back around Viktoria because he is scared of what Dimitri would do if he found out. This practically made me Eddie's lifeline. Only I could stop Dimitri in the middle of a rampage, and we both knew it.


	9. Why am I Such a Dick?

**Turns out I could update sooner than I orginally thought. This is my longest chapter yet! And there is a lot of drama between Rose and Dimitri.**

**I hope you guys enjoy it and please, please, please, review and tell me what you think. The gang heads off to Greece soon! Are you excited? I know I am :)**

* * *

_Only I could stop Dimitri in the middle of a rampage, and we both knew it_.

Turns out that I never got to go shopping later that day. Eddie was still with Viktoria and Dimitri had called and told me he had to take another shift. After hearing the disappointment in my voice, he vowed to make it up to me, along with hundreds of apologies. Fortunately for me, Lissa came to the rescue.

"Get up!" She sung as she pranced into the living room. I had been caught red-handed with my hand in the donut jar. Chocolate covered my face and fingers. Lissa sighed, "You're going to waste away if I don't get you out of this house."

"Where are we going?" I licked my fingers and wiped my face.

"To get your bridesmaid dress," a grin spread across her face and I jumped up immediately. Looks like I will get to go shopping after all. Lissa and I both walked to the bridal shop and as I started to walk up to the counter, she grabbed my arm. I shot her an inquisitive look. "It's been custom made especially for you. And the rest of my bridesmaids." Lissa dragged me to one of those large changing rooms that were surrounded by mirrors and clingy women hoping to get a sale in. One of the Moroi girls was holding a peachy coloured dress. It was just the right shade for my skin tone. "These women have mixed together a lot of dyes to get the right colour that I wanted for you. And they've styled it for weeks to get the right measurements and shape for your body. So don't go stuffing your hand in those donut jars!" Lissa scolded. "If you gain even the slightest of weight, then you will be wearing something like that—"

She pointed to an orange puff ball that could hardly even be considered a dress. Cinderella wouldn't even be caught dead in something as atrocious as that. I grimaced, "I would rather not attend your wedding looking like Garfield."

"Good, so we have an understanding." She smiled brightly.

The Moroi sales lady thrusted the peachy dress in my face and demanded that I try it on. With a wistful look towards the couch, I headed into the changing room. The dress was quick and easy to slip on. I was completely mesmerized. It was similar to Lissa's wedding gown, except there was no train and the piece that supported my large breasts was twisted in an intricate way.

As I stepped out to reveal myself, Lissa gasped. "Oh, Rose. You look so beautiful! And just think, once your hair and makeup is done, Dimitri won't be able to resist you."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm already irresistible, Liss. I don't think Dimitri needs anymore persuading. Besides, he has to make up for the plans he ditched earlier."

Lissa frowned, "What plans?"

"We were supposed to go shopping for that kitchen stuff. We've been meaning to do it ever since we moved in, but something always conflicts it. I don't think I can live off Chinese takeout and delivered Pizza any longer. I'm kind of surprised that I'm not like Jabba the Hut right now." I explained, lifting my long floor length dress and walking over to where she had plonked down on the leather couch. It wasn't very comfortable. "And then Viktoria arrived this morning—"

"Viktoria?" Lissa was puzzled. "What is she doing here?"

"Well, its holidays, so school is out... and she's helping Mia, Tasha and I plan your bachelorette party."

She blushed, "Oh no. Please no male strippers!"

"Relax!" I laughed. "Save that for Christian's party."

Her eyes widened. "God, no. Please not him either."

I winked, "You know how Adrian is about these sorts of things. No guarantees that there won't be strippers. I'm just as worried as you are, especially since Dimitri is attending it."

"Wow. It's amazing how things have changed. Just six months ago we were high school girls attending classes and studying for exams. And now, you're marrying your former mentor, I'm getting married and having Christian's child, and we're both sitting here talking about strippers." She laughed.

"Yeah, it's weird how things change so quickly." I smiled, lost in distant memories of how simple my life used to be. "Anyway, your party is the night before the wedding. I'm not guaranteeing that there are no strippers, or booze, or even poker."

She groaned in mortification, "Great. Leave it to you for organizing my bachelorette."

"Actually," I said, "Mia and Tasha came up with most of this stuff; I just went along with it."

"Remind me to give them a royal beating the next time I see them."

"Ha!" I snorted, "Liss, you obviously don't remember that time when you accidentally stood on a towel and apologised to it." **[A/N: Hahaha, my friend did that!]**

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever, Rose."

I smiled and stood, walking to the middle of the mirrored room and looked at each one. "This dress truly is beautiful."

Lissa stood beside me, "No. You are what makes this dress beautiful. I've seen Mia and Tasha in their dresses and they don't glow like you do in yours."

"Thanks Liss. I'm going to go change."

After Lissa payed for the dress, we headed back to her place. Her living room was still a mess, with bridal books and magazines strewn across the floor and coffee table. Fabric samples sat in a neat three foot pile and a silver Apple laptop was somehow still standing in the midst of this mess.

"Okay, so for bouquets I was thinking that we should do something unique for each of us. I googled flower meanings. I want you to go through and pick one that best describes you, Mia and Tasha. While you do that, I'm going to finish writing address' on invites." Lissa explained, walking over to a stack of baby pink envelopes and glittering white invitations.

"Will do," I murmured, scrolling down. When I found the meaning 'undying love' I figured it was only suitable. My love for Lissa as a sister would never die or fade. The flower that it translated into was red roses. I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote: _Rose-red roses (:_

I scanned through some more and found a good meaning that suited Mia, 'courage and bluntness'. It translated into Borage, a delicate blue flower with green leaves and a violet coloured centre: _Mia-borage :P_

Next was Tasha. It took me a while and I read through hundreds of meanings and flowers, finally finding one that stood out, 'sensuality, grace, elegance and transport of joy'. I figured that is best because Tasha is a joyous person, elegant and caring. The meaning translated into a beautiful white jasmine flower: _Tasha-jasmine xD_

"Done," I said to Lissa. "What bouquet are you having?" I passed her the piece of paper with the flowers for the bridesmaids.

"I'm going to carry some white carnations; they stand for 'sweet, lovely, innocence and pure love'." Lissa handed me some invites and set the address book between us. "Do you mind writing some invites?"

I shook my head and got started. She showed me who was coming, even though most of their names were printed on the envelope already in her elegant script. My own handwriting was rather clumsy compared to hers. I read inside one the invite with Viktoria's name on it, it was standard stuff.

_To: Viktoria Belikova and guest._

_You are graciously invited to attend the marriage of Christian Ozera and Vasilisa Dragomir._

And after that it was naming the time it started and where it took place. Vika's was different however; a plane ticket was added inside of her envelope before I licked the seal and closed it. It tasted foul, but after the first fifty times, I no longer tasted it. My tongue had turned numb. I would never be able to enjoy the chocolaty goodness of donuts ever again! By the time we were finished, my hand was cramping and my tongue had paper cuts from licking the seal. "My tongue hurts!" I moaned, but it sounded more like 'my thung hurths'.

Lissa laughed, "Mine too..."

Without warning, the door flung open and in walked Count Sparkula himself. He froze and stared at us with our bleeding tongues hanging out of our mouths. "What the hell are you two doing?"

"Shealing your shupid wedding invithes!" I exclaimed.

"What?"

Lissa sobered up, "Sealing our stupid wedding invites!"

"Oh," he smirked. "You know, that's why they invented stickers. You guys didn't have to lick the seal." Christian picked up an un-opened packet of stickers made especially for sealing the back of envelopes. Lissa and I both groaned. Apparently Christian thought it was hilarious and picked the wrong time to laugh.

Lissa's pregnancy hormones started to kick in and she shot up, storming into her bedroom and slamming the door so hard that the wall shook from the force. "You've done it now, Sparky."

I grunted as I stood up on my stiff joints. After stretching, they popped and cracked. I left Lissa and Christian to sort out their problems and checked my watch. Wow, it's almost dinner time. As I opened my door, I noticed the apartment was extremely dark. I swear that I had left the television on before I left the house. Once the light flickered to life, I noticed Dimitri's shoes and coat strewn across the floor.

That wasn't like Dimitri to be so messy. He must have turned to TV off then. I picked up his coat and hung it on the back of a dining chair, searching for him. "Dimitri?" No answer. When I reached our bedroom, I was met with his masculine form in a deep sleep. He was still wearing the same clothes from this morning and hadn't even bothered to get underneath the covers. He must be really exhausted. As I neared closer to the bedside table, i flicked on the switch. The light illuminated Dimitri and after I brushed some hair off of his face it occurred to me that a long scratch trailed across his cheekbone.

I frowned and grabbed his hand, assessing it for any signs of fighting. Sure enough, I found grazes across his knuckled and cuts along his muscular arms. My fingers lightly trailed over his skin, he stirred. "Rose?" Dimitri's voice was thick with sleep and his Russian accent was very dominant.

"Yeah, it's just me comrade." My fingers were still trailing up and down his arms, scanning for more injuries. "Baby, what happened to you?" I breathed.

"Strigoi," he whispered. "They were trying to get though the wards. That's why I had to take another shift."

"Why didn't you tell me?" The pitch of my voice raised up an octave.

He rolled onto his side and cupped my face in his hands. "Because I didn't want to worry you. Rose, you were already hesitant to let me go to work today and if I told you that... well, you would have demanded for me to come home."

"Exactly," I said in outrage. "By the sounds of things, you didn't want to come home to me."

He sighed, "Of course I wanted to, but not when I know that there is a constant risk of invasion. Better safe than sorry, Rose. I couldn't just come home and act like nothing ever happened and feel guilty for not taking an extra shift to make sure everyone is safe. Especially you. I would never forgive myself if something had happened."

"But it didn't," I urged. "Nothing happened. You know that guardians surround every inch of Court. Everyone would have been safe."

"Yeah, well. We thought the same about St. Vladimir's and look how that turned out!" His words weren't exactly harsh but they held a stern, forceful note. Tears welled up in my eyes as memories of that day in the caves flooded back. That was the day I almost lost Dimitri. Regret instantly flashed on his face. "Oh, Roza. I'm sorry... it wasn't supposed to come out like that. I just—it's been a long day. That's no excuse and I know, but it's true." He groaned, "Why am I such a dick today?" Dimitri slapped his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut.

One tear slid down my cheek as I watched him tear himself up over everything he's said. It had all been phrased in the wrong way and made me think the worst of meaningless words. I crawled onto the bed beside him and curled up against his side. It's not Dimitri, its exhaustion and protectiveness that's making him like this. Dimitri would never have lied to me about taking another shift if he hadn't been trying to protect me. And he most definitely wouldn't have said such harsh words if he had had a good night's rest.

He hesitantly wrapped an arm around me, "I'm sorry. I said that I would make it up to you and yet I come straight home, put my own selfish needs first, and then make you cry." Dimitri wiped away my tears.

"Selfish needs? Dimitri you need to sleep. You're going to pass out of exhaustion if you don't, which I'm pretty sure you already did when you got home. You don't need to make it up to me; I understand why you lied to me. I would have done the same thing if I were in your position."

"I'm still sorry, Roza."

"You can be sorry later," I murmured, tilting my head up to give him a kiss. It was soft and sweet. Dimitri was reassuring me how much I meant to him. But things soon escalated. We hadn't had sex in... Well, I don't even know how long. A few months, maybe? Dimitri never pressured me into it; he's not that kind of man. He was just content with whatever I serve out. But right now, in that heated kiss, I could feel just how much he has held back around me.

Dimitri pulled me on top of him and I was afraid of hurting him, but so far his only injuries were the scrapes on his arms and cut on his cheek. He tugged my shirt up over my head and then flipped us over, trailing kisses down my neck and then pulling off his own shirt. The brief moment that his lips left my skin had caused the rational part of my brain to resurface. Was I ready for this? Being intimate with Dimitri again was overstepping a large boundary line that I had set when I decided to forgive myself over the miscarriage.

It was too much of a reminder of the dead pregnancy. It is, after all, how a baby is made. And I certainly know that there are no condoms in our house. Dimitri tugged off my jeans and ran his hands across my heated skin. I had to come to a decision soon because Dimitri is about to take advantage of my lapse in self-control. His lips trailed from my ear and down my neck, his hands sliding down my side and teasingly tracing the edge of my panties. God, he felt so good—No!

"Stop," I gasped out after regaining some control. Dimitri froze, his heavy breath tickling my collarbone. "Stop..." I said again, pushing him away.

A look of hurt and rejection washed over his features. He moved away from me, "I'm sorry." The sad expression never wavered as he slowly scooted to the other side of the bed. I curled my knees up against my chest. "I shouldn't have gone that far."

I didn't know what to say. I've never heard so much pain in Dimitri's voice before. And the hurt on his face made me feel guilty. I had done that. This time I had been the one to hurt him. I let out a humourless laugh, "What has happened to us?" It was a rhetorical question.

Dimitri wouldn't meet my eyes, but he did shake his head. "I don't know anymore." He sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.

I swallowed and crawled over to sit behind him, kissing his shoulder gently. "Dimitri... I love you. I hope you know that, but I just... need to take it slowly." My hands gripped his bicep and I kept my lips brushing against his skin in a soft, reassuring way.

He turned to look at me, the pain and rejection now replaced with anger. But it wasn't directed towards me, but himself. "Why am I such a dick today?" he whispered his words from before, with a humourless smile.

I hugged him, burying my face into his bare chest and closing my eyes. I was home. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me tighter against him. "You're not a dick. We're just having a hard time, that's all. We will get passed it. I love you."

"I love you too, Roza. So much. And yet, I keep stuffing up." He sighed.

I looked up at him and rolled my eyes, "you had a bad day. So what? I have them all the time." Dimitri kissed my forehead gently and tucked my head under his chin. "You will feel better tomorrow."

"I hope so."


	10. It's just so white!

"_I hope so."_

Less than a week later, we were all cramped on a private jet and halfway to Greece. The wedding is in a few days and we needed to set up for it. Dimitri and I have been patching up our relationship by spending more time together. He even bought me flowers. I smiled at the memory.

_*Flashback*_

_It had been another late night with Lissa, planning last minute exceptions for the wedding. Exhaustion was taking over my body and I couldn't wait to sink into my soft bed and curl up beside Dimitri. Just the thought of sleep made me excited._

_Our apartment door was unlocked. Dimitri must have left it open, knowing that I would have forgotten to take my house key... again. Only the kitchen light was left on so that I wouldn't have to stumble my way through the dark. This had become a daily routine for me. Dimitri stopped waiting up for me three days ago, instead he just goes straight to bed. I took off my coat and aimlessly hung it on the back of the dining chair._

_All movements froze when I saw the stunning red roses held by a glass vase. There were twelve, and each one was more beautiful than the last. A small card hung off the nearest one and in Dimitri's neat handwriting were nine captivating words and a signature:_

I will love you until the last rose dies.

Love, D.

_I smiled and appraised the bouquet of flowers once again. Right in the centre of the bunch was a rose that stood out among the rest. It was slightly larger and as I brushed my fingers across the petals, I realised it had an almost materialistic feel to it. With burning curiosity, I lifted it up. The stem was made of shiny green plastic and I laughed when it all clicked into place. Dimitri had bought eleven real roses and one fake; _I will love you until the last rose dies_._

_A small tear rolled down my cheek. He is so sweet. I quickly walked into our bedroom and saw him sitting up, reading a western novel. It was one of his favourites and I couldn't help but stare. He looked up at me through loose strands of hair that fell free of his hair elastic. I wiped away my tears and smiled at him. Before he could react, I padded over to him and planted a kiss on his delectable lips. Without pulling away, he placed his book aside and bought me closer to him._

"_Thank you," I whispered, hugging him close and resting my head on his chest. Dimitri ran his fingers through my hair. "I love you."_

"_I love you more."_

_*End of flashback*_

That night had bought us closer. I've slowly been letting down my guard of intimacy around him, but still don't let him go further than second base. For the next four days we'll hardly be able to see each other. The selected bridal party must stay with either the bride or groom during the upcoming days of the wedding. It's not that we can't see each other, because we can, but escaping from Lissa during the most stressful time isn't exactly easy. Dimitri and I had figured this out early, which meant we were making the most of our time together while we still could.

He lifted up the arm chair that separated our seats, and tugged me close against his side. I was exhausted, especially after another late night with Lissa and getting up early for our flight. It was a few hours flight and the Greek airport does not let private jets land, which meant we had to land in Nice, France and catch a regular airplane to Greece.

After we landed there was only a short variation between the flights, which meant we had to run through the airport and quickly board. We had a few seconds to spare, but we made it. The Moroi were panting heavily, whereas the dhampirs looked like we didn't just run halfway across the foreign airport. The French flight attendant greeted us, and neither of us had any idea what she said. I just shrugged and boarded the plane. We all sat in a buddy organisation that was spread throughout the plane.

Dimitri and I were at the back, Lissa and Christian were in business class, Viktoria and Eddie were in the middle and Adrian, Tasha and Mia were across the aisle from where I sat. Dimitri and I weren't attending the wedding as guardians, obviously. After a half an hour debate with Lissa yesterday, she guaranteed me that the guardians had already been flown to Greece and were booking rooms for us. But as long as we are in human territory, Dimitri, Eddie and I were the only guardians aboard this plane. The plane cabin was alight with foreign conversations and I just curled up beside Dimitri again, happy to get in some sleep before we landed.

A sudden jolt made me sit upright, ripping me from my pleasant slumber. The roar of the breaks was sensitive to my ears and I realised we had landed. The plane came to a slow pace and finally parked in front of the small airport. Dimitri studied me with drowsy eyes before unbuckling his seatbelt. It looked like he hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours. People started to file off the plane and when I looked over at Adrian and Tasha, I saw that they were asleep. They looked so cute leaning against each other. Adrian's arms were wrapped around her shoulders and I couldn't help but smile. They would make the perfect couple.

Lissa and Christian fought against the crowd and made their way to us, "Ready to go?" Her hair was slightly mussed and it looked like she had only just woken up. I'm sure I looked the same so I pulled my hair back into a brutal ponytail.

"Yeah," I yawned. "Where are Eddie and Vika?"

"They are waiting for us in the terminal."

"Let's go then," I murmured. Christian and I both gave each other a mischievous look before walking over to Adrian and Tasha's sleeping forms. On the silent count to three we yelled, "Wake up Jeff!" It was off the Wiggles. We almost pissed ourselves laughing at the stunned look on both their faces.

After a quick high-five we exited the plane. The whole way Tasha grumbled to Christian about being grounded for the next month. My chuckles were simultaneous. They just kept coming in waves. Dimitri knotted his fingers with mine and we made our way to baggage claim. All the signs were written in Greek, but the airport was so small that it didn't take us long to make our way through it. We had landed on one of the smaller islands just off the coast of Athens.

The wedding will be held on Mykonos Beach and just north of it lay rocky hills and traditional houses. The hotel we will be staying at is at the bottom of the mountainous hill and is surrounded by stairwell roads and houses. All the concrete houses were the bright shade of white and the stairwells that provided leverage up the mountain are made of grey cobblestone. A string of grocery stores and bakeries lined the bottom of the hill and locals scurried around getting in last minute preparations for tonight's dinner.

The sun had already set and strings of fairy lights and lanterns adorned the roads, shops and even peoples balconies. The Mykonos Beach Hotel was absolutely beautiful. A strange architecture made it all the more unique, and just like all the houses, it was a blinding white that glowed under the twinkling of fairly lights and the moon. But the doors and windows were painted a lovely turquoise blue. As we walked through the main wooden gate, a large blue pool greeted us, along with some poolside chairs and tables. The umbrellas were made of straw and long grass. We climbed up the steps and by the time we reached the reception desk, I was exhausted.

Even the Moroi had to catch their breath for a moment. By the time we go back home, I'm going to be ten times more fit. Walking up stairs everyday does that to you. Lissa checked everyone in and we all huddled in the lobby.

"Okay, so I got us all individual rooms." She handed each of us a key, I was slightly disappointed by this. "Christian, Adrian and Eddie will be on that side of the hotel," Lissa pointed to a hallway that veered left. "Rose, Tasha, Mia, Viktoria and I will be staying on that side." She pointed to a hallway that veered right. "Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads. I linked my arm with Lissa and we immediately walked in the direction of our hallway, pulling our suitcases behind us. "This is going to be so much fun," I murmured.

Mia caught up to us and rolled her eyes, "You sound like a lovesick school girl about to go on a date."

I shot her a sidelong look but decided not to grace her remark with an answer. We climbed up five flights of stairs before finally reaching the sixth floor. "God," Viktoria groaned. "They should at least install an elevator. Have you seen this place? Imagine living on the top floor." She shuddered, "And not to mention the whole town. This island is practically a mountain. I've never seen so many stairs in my life!"

I chuckled as I found a door with my number printed on it, 1081. "Don't go all stair-a-phobic on me, Vika."

She rolled her eyes and entered the room across the hall from mine. Mia's was beside hers, Lissa's was beside mine and Tasha's was at the end of the hall. The moment my door clicked shut, I turned on a light. The simplicity was mesmerizing. It was very white and it consisted of a large kind sized bed pushed up against a wall. The pillows were blue and white and beside the large square of comfort sat a dark brown wooden bedside table. Small candles were lit and pebbles were set there as decorations. Beyond the small table were large double doors. A white, transparent curtain hung in front of the delicate glass. On top of the bed lay a dark wooden tray, holding a vase of red roses and different coloured candles. The scent of jasmine greeted me as I walked closer.

Off to the right were two white couches decorated with blue pillows and resting in front was a dark wooden coffee table. Three white candles of all different sizes rested on top of it. Beyond the small sitting area were open doors that lead to a sparkling bathroom. If I thought the room was white, I was mistaken. There was a large white shower and resting beside it was a stark white hand basin. Small soaps and shampoos decorated it. But what caught most of my attention was the large bathtub with jet streams. It was like a mini Jacuzzi.

Fluffy white towels were rolled up into perfect cylinders and piled on top of each other along the shelve that adorned the wall. And beside that was a bit of green plant life held in a white vase. Two lights sat on either side of the large mirror and beside the main reflective glass was a smaller one, a magnifying one. It highlighted all my impurities. I couldn't believe a room could be so beautiful.

I walked back into the main room and opened the large double doors, which lead me on to my own personal balcony. A dark wooden table and two chairs sat here and a clear vase that held a beautiful white rose sat in the centre. The view was absolutely breathtaking. You could see everything from here. Tonight was a full moon and the light cascaded down, making the sand of the beach a startling white, just like everything else on this island. Dark sapphire blue water rolled in gentle waves against the shore. Down below you could see the busy streets. There weren't any cars or motor vehicles, I mean, how are you gonna drive a little Toyota Camry up these monstrous hills? I noticed that some people pulled Donkeys through the crowds.

The mules carried baskets of Groceries on their backs, or even people. This place just got more fascinating by the second. A gentle breeze rustled through my hair and disturbed the curtains. I sighed in content and rested against the balcony rail. It didn't take long for me to get lost in my own thoughts, wishing that Dimitri was here with me. We would be able to share this intricate beauty together and curl up on the soft bed in each other's arms.

A loud knock on the door made me jump. I quickly bounded over to it and swung it right open. Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. "Dimitri..." I breathed.

* * *

**Hehehe. I'm just that evil.**

**Sorry to cut it off there, but I'm tired of writing.**

**2,208 words, all for you :)**

**Anyway, please review and I might update sooner.**


	11. Commence Opperation Condom

_A loud knock on the door made me jump. I quickly bounded over to it and swung it right open. Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. "Dimitri..." I breathed_.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, thrilled at seeing him on my doorstep.

He walked in after I stepped aside and murmured, "I can't sleep knowing that you are so close, yet so far away." I closed the door and walked towards him. Dimitri gave me a gentle kiss before smirking, "Besides, sleeping in a room adjacent to Adrian Ivashkov is definitely almost as bad as sleeping in an empty bed."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tight against his strong build. We started to kiss, and then one thing led to another. Our clothes disappeared rather quickly and he pushed me backwards until the back of my legs hit the edge of the bed. I fell back, pulling him down after me. We looked at each other briefly, so much love and lust filled the gaze and it made my heart race. Our mouths met in another searing kiss and I scooted back until my head hit the pillows.

Dimitri trailed kisses down my neck and shoulder. Each breath I took, he got closer to my chest. He unclasped my bra and a small moan escaped my lips as the cool air met my warm skin. "Dimitri..."

He kissed back up my neck and nibbled my ear, "I love it when you moan my name." His voice was husky and completely irresistible. I would have done anything for him in that moment. Instead of kissing agonisingly slowly down my body again, he completely skipped my chest and kissed across my stomach. Oh God. His slight stubble tickled my skin and I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my throat.

Dimitri smiled up at me and I meshed his lips back with mine. Using my toes, I managed to pull his boxers off, leaving him completely exposed for my enjoyment. And boy was I ready. I've been waiting for this for so long. I never realised how much I needed Dimitri to make love to me again. Going this slow was like torture and it made me wonder how Dimitri had so much restraint to not just rip off the offending articles of clothing and join our bodies.

In fact, it made me wonder how he's held back for so long. Most guys constantly push their girlfriends for sex daily. But Dimitri... he never mentioned it once. The closest he got to losing his self-control was the other day when I pushed him away. Guilt flooded over me. I've been giving Dimitri a hard time ever since the miscarriage, putting myself first. Not once did I think about his wants or needs. I'm such a bad person.

During my revelry, I hadn't noticed that he finally did take off my underwear. Bare skin brushed against bare skin and we were only seconds away from intimacy when Dimitri stopped. He sighed against my shoulder and rolled off of me. I was stunned, we had gotten so far.

I shot him an inquisitive look and he wrapped his arms around me and pulled the sheet up to cover our naked bodies. "We don't have any protection," he murmured.

I sagged in defeat, trying to slow my heavy breathing. "Damn." Dimitri chuckled but it soon turned into a yawn. "Awe, comrade. Don't yawn; it makes me want to yawn!"

He ignored me, "Goodnight Roza. I love you."

"Wait," I murmured.

"What?"

"Are you... are you going to get some protection? Because I don't plan on staying away from you longer than necessary."

This time he laughed. "I will, Rose."

"When?" I pressured.

"Soon."

"How soon? Because I think—"

"Rose!" he interrupted with another chuckle. "Just soon, okay? I promise."

"Commence operation: get a condom!" I yelled loudly. Dimitri couldn't contain his laughter.

...

Apparently knocking on a door didn't appeal to Lissa. It's the second time this week that she has walked into my room and stopped mid sentence.

"Rose, get up! Breakfast is being..." She shutup for a moment and when she finished her sentence, a hint of embarrassment laced it, "served."

Another voice floated to me and then a scream. I groaned and opened my eyes. "Oh my god! I never wanted to see _that much_ of my brother!" Vika cried, turning around.

Dimitri hugged me and the sheet closer, "Go away."

I smiled at Dimitri's grumpy mood, "yeah. I don't walk in on you and sparky like that."

"You guys aren't even supposed to be together. Dimitri has his own room." Lissa said emphasising the last part.

"Oh well." I mumbled, sleepily.

"Rose, get up!" Lissa said in annoyance. "Breakfast is almost over, you guys over slept. I'll give you ten minutes and if you're not dressed and ready then I'm going to get a guardian to watch Rose's door every night." I opened my eyes and glared at her. She smiled, "that way there will be no more late night hook ups."

Lissa dragged Viktoria out the door and I reluctantly got up. Dimitri whimpered in protest, "Come on, comrade. Remember, today is the first day of operation: find a condom."

He smiled and reluctantly opened his eyes, appraising my naked body. I walked over to my suitcase and searched through, pulling out some casual underwear and a black strapless maxi dress. Dimitri dressed into the same clothes from last night—jeans and a tee. We had just finished when Lissa re-entered the room.

"Good, you're up." She smiled, "let's go."

Lissa lead us both down what seemed like a never ending stair case, before finally reaching the lobby. Dimitri and I walked with our fingers entwined. The lobby was astonishing, with polished concrete floors and—of course—white furniture. We passed through it and were met by a small restaurant. The table cloths were white but the table and chairs were a dark coloured wood. A large table held our party of people. Everyone greeted us as we neared, Viktoria wouldn't meet Dimitri's eyes. She was probably trying to get over the trauma of seeing her brother half naked. The sheet had only covered his modesty.

Dimitri and I sat side by side and ate the food that waiters bought out for us all. Someone had ordered a platter, filled with Greek delicacies. There was calamari, meatballs, lemon coated octopus, potatoes, meat wrapped in spinach, chicken and lamb kebabs, a rice dish, salad and a spinach pastry. I had one of everything; the food was so good that I ate until I thought I would explode. The platters had been huge and whoever ordered had gotten two. Even after everyone eating as much as possible, there was still heaps left over. We got some put into containers for the dhampirs to take back to their hotel rooms if we get peckish. After breakfast, everyone dispersed into different directions and Lissa dragged the girls and I all shopping for the day.

_Hooray_. I thought sarcastically.

...

Lissa's bachelorette party came around quickly. Operation: find a condom, was a complete fail. I swear that I will explode if I don't have some kind of sexual release soon. Dimitri had gone to the local pharmacy, I had asked at the hotel reception desk, Dimitri had even asked Adrian while I asked Eddie... and yet both of us still turned up empty handed. Dimitri remained optimistic, whereas I was nearing the point where my brain said _screw the protection and fuck me_! My lover insisted that there should be some at Christian's bachelorette party. I no longer had the hope; somehow I just knew it would turn out as another dead end.

"Be optimistic, Rose." Dimitri had said with an amused smile. I just grumbled about how Rose and optimism don't mix.

Meanwhile, me and the girls were all crammed inside Lissa's hotel room. We were each getting ready for a night on the town and then later on when we get back to the hotel we're going to play a few games. During our shopping trip today, we had each bought dresses. Lissa's was a pretty nude pink colour and flowed over her pregnant belly. It went to about mid thigh. She bought a pair of black gladiator heels and a nude pink clutch with a large bow on it. The colour matched her dress perfectly.

My dress was black lace, skin tight and zipped up at the front. I bought plain black heels and a silver clutch with a large black bow on it. Viktoria had bought a pink skin tight dress with slits on it, underneath the slits was a pretty floral pattern and it went mid thigh. She had matching plain pink pumps and a floral clutch. Tasha's dress was slightly more elegant than everyone else's; she is older, so it makes sense. It was two different colours. Around her bust was a loose teal material and it resembled a t-shirt's sleeves. Below the bust ran a skin tight black material than went now to her knees. She and Mia had bought flats instead of heels, so she wore a pair of studded gladiator flats and a satin teal clutch.

Mia's dress was slightly harder to explain. It looked like she had tucked a denim vest into a blue skirt that reached mid thigh. The vest-type piece was slightly frilly and a lighter blue than the bottom half. She didn't buy a new bag; she just used her usual blue handbag and wore a pair of blue leather ballet flats. After we had all gotten dressed, we saw that it was almost eight-thirty p.m. in human time. We had been running on a human schedule since we arrived in Greece because that's when everything is open. All of us stepped into Lissa's extravagant bathroom and got started on hair and make-up.

Lissa put her hair into tight curls and pinned her bangs back with a few bobby pins. She put on all natural foundation and gave herself smoky grey eyelids which made her green eyes glow. Mia curled her hair into loose spirals. She then tied half of her hair up and leaving the other half down. After that, she applied light makeup, not the heavy stuff that Viktoria, Lissa and I were putting on. Vika and I had bought skin tight dresses because being dhampir meant that we had curves to show off, unlike the Moroi. We also decided to flaunt ourselves tonight because we never really get to dress up.

Tasha had pulled her hair back into a bun and secured it with some diamond hair pins. I wasn't sure if they were real jewels or not though. She didn't put on any makeup, which didn't really surprise me. I've never seen her wear any before. Viktoria wore some pink lip gloss and thick mascara. She looked absolutely beautiful by the time she had finished straightening her hair.

Last of all was me. I made my eyes a dark smoky colour, a few shades darker than Lissa's. After I finished applying mascara, I added some ruby red lipstick to make my eyes pop. Lissa gasped when she walked into the room and saw my makeup. "Whoa, Rose. You look absolutely stunning."

"Thanks Liss," I smiled.

_Do you need help with your hair?_ She asked through the bond

_Yeah, thanks_. I took it out of the messy bun and she brushed through it with my comb.

_Straight, curly or wavy?_ She asked

_Straight_.

Lissa took out the hot straightening iron and sectioned my hair, she told me to close my eyes so that when I opened them I would have the full effect. I did as she was told and waited patiently for her to finish. She gently prodded and pulled my hair. As the hot pieces fell fresh from the straightening iron, they burned my back slightly but it was only a dull pain. When Lissa was done she told me to open my eyes. I gasped. She had put product in my hair to make it glossy and silky to the touch. Perfectly straight strands hung around my shoulders and down my chest.

"Wow..." I breathed, "it looks amazing. I swear you should be a beautician or something."

Lissa rolled her eyes, "come on, let's go. The girls are waiting."

I nodded, grabbed my clutch and we all exited the room. Lissa, Vika and I all groaned when we realised that we had to walk down stairs in heels. I slipped mine off to save myself the pain and quickly padded down them with everyone else following close behind. "Oh, I almost forgot!" I said loudly as we reached the lobby.

I pulled a plastic tiara out of my clutch and placed it on top of Lissa's head. It was silver and at a fluffy pink trim along the bottom and in fake diamonds it said, 'let's party'. Lissa laughed, "Of course you would buy me something so stupid, Rose."

I smiled at her, slipped on my heels and started walking again; only this time I had my arm linked with Lissa's. As we walked, we crossed paths with the guys. It appears they had the same idea to leave at nine p.m., or perhaps they just took about an hour to get ready. I smiled at the mental image of Dimitri curling his hair and putting on lip gloss. Speaking of the devil, my eyes met his and I could see the undeniable desire when he appreciatively dragged his eyes along the length of my body. I gave him my man eater smile before looking away and pulling Lissa out the door before Christian saw her. It was bad luck, but pretty much inevitable. He saw her anyway and I couldn't help but laugh when his eyes popped out of his head.

They were going to be tied together in every possible way tomorrow, which meant that they could wait a little longer.

* * *

**So, the next chapter is going to be the Bachelorette Party.**

**Does anyone have any ideas on what they could do?**

**I can't update until I get some because I only have a vague idea on what they were going to do.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter :)**

**Please review and give me a suggestion or two! ha, that rhymes B-)**


	12. Lissa's Bachelorette Party

**A special thanks to **_**Vaena**_**. You gave me loads of suggestions and I'm extremely grateful. If it wasn't for you then this chapter wouldn't have been as fun to write (:**

_They were going to be tied together in every possible way tomorrow, which meant that they could wait a little longer._

As we walked into one of the few clubs in Greece, Tasha announced that we were going to play a little game. She pulled us to a quiet corner and pulled a stack of cards out of her clutch.

"Okay, so this game is called That Guy. This stack of cards has a cartoon depiction of men. I'll give you three cards each and you have to search this club for the man that fits the description." Tasha dealt out the cards and I looked down at mine. "There is sticky tape on the back of the cards and I want you to stick the cards on the guys backs. If they know you did it then you have to find another. Okay, let's go." she said, instantly walking away.

On my first card was a picture of a man dressed in a suit and had a sports car and the caption read, 'Rich Guy'. I walked away from our table and started to search through the crowd. Finding a rich guy seemed difficult because none of them were wearing suits. Finally, after some vigorous searching, I found a man wearing a tuxedo. It was strange attire to wear at a club. He was grinding up against a young girl; the man appeared to be ten years her senior.

I walked up to him, placed the card on his back and made it appear like I just wanted to grind him. As we danced I had to stop from laughing at the jealous girls face. The man turned to me and slurred, "Well hello there little lady..."

He gripped my hips and started to grind into my backside. I was utterly repulsed by his actions and I pushed him away in disgust. The young girl started giggling when she saw the card I had stuck on his back. As I walked back to the table we had occupied, I grabbed my next card. It was a guy wearing a sport jacket and his hair was in gelled spikes, the caption said, 'sports jersey guy'. A lot of guys in the club were wearing jerseys, so I looked for one that had his hair gelled. As I entered the sweaty barrier of bodies I saw a man walk past and he had a card stuck to his back. I giggled, it read: 'Married, but not tonight guy'.

I wondered who had gotten that card. Suddenly, I found the perfect guy. He was flexing his muscles to a group of giggling girls and he had a sport jersey tied around his waist. His bleached blonde hair was gelled messily. I walked up to him, pushed my way through the girls and pushed my body into his suggestively. He wriggled his eyebrows at me and leaned down to nip my neck. I had to stop myself from gagging at the overuse of terrible aftershave. I patted his back affectionately and then ran off. He shouted something like 'you'll be back,' which I highly doubted. Dimitri was the only man I needed in my life.

My last card was 'the tool guy'. It was a picture of a shirtless guy flexing his biceps and winking. When I looked over at our table, I noticed that Viktoria and Tasha were already finished and had a drink each. The last guy was easy to find because this club was full of tools. Fortunately for me, I found the perfect one. He was on the dance floor doing a bunch of overrated dance moves, thrusting his hips and flexing his bulging muscles. Girls swooned over him. I snuck up behind him and stuck the card onto his back lightly, he didn't feel a thing. Smirking, I walked over to the bar and ordered a cruiser. The man didn't ask for any ID and after paying, I went back over to our table.

Lissa was back by now, with a glass of water since she was pregnant. "That was insane!" She said.

"I know, some guy totally tried to dry hump me." I agreed.

Viktoria laughed as a flustered Mia returned to our table. "Whoa, what happened to you?"

Mia took a long gulp of my cruiser, "Hey!" I protested.

"I don't want to talk about it," Mia replied, blushing. She then brightened up, "Time for our next game!"

"Let's play Drink or Dare," I suggested. After finishing off my cruiser, I laid the empty bottle on the table. Mia pulled a shot glass out of her handbag and Tasha went to buy a bottle of Russian Vodka. "We'll spin the bottle and whoever it lands on gets to choose someone. They will tell you to do a dare and then you have to decide whether you want to do the dare or drink a shot of vodka instead."

"Okay," Lissa said hesitantly, "I'll just drink water..." Everyone nodded and she spun first. It landed on Viktoria. "I dare you to... flash your bra to that man over there." Lissa pointed to an older man, probably in his forties. Vika blushed but went and did it anyway. The guy almost had a heart attack. His hand was placed over his chest and he leant against the wall for support.

Viktoria's blush intensified by the time she reached our laughing party again. "Okay, my turn." She spun and it landed on Mia, "Hmm... I dare you to host the best rear end contest."

Mia laughed and defiantly stood up, walking over to a group of young men. "Hey guys!" she yelled loudly, "Bend over; I want to see who has the best ass."

They all looked at her like she grew a second head. "What?"

"Come on, bend over," She turned one guy around and the rest followed. We all burst into hysterics when she started spanking them. Finally she pointed to the brunette and said, "You've got a nice ass." Mia happily skipped back to us and we couldn't stop laughing. She spun the bottle and it landed on me. "I dare you to go and sit on that guys lap, make sure he gets a hard-on and say, 'oh, do you have a rock in your pants, or are you just excited to see me?'"

I smirked and stood up, heading over to the young guy Mia pointed out. He was reasonably good looking, but not like Dimitri. He had chestnut tousled hair and dark green eyes. The guy was relaxing back against the lounge chair, with a beer in hand and laughing with guy friends. The man looked about twenty. He caught sight of me and did a double take when he realised I was walking straight to him. I sat down on his lap, winked at his friends and said: "Hey."

They all looked at each other, stunned and confused at the same time. "Well hey there darling." The guy I was sitting on recovered first and gave me a debonair smile. I ground my ass into his lap, feeling him stiffen.

I gasped, "Oh, do you have a rock in your pants, or are you just excited to see me?"

He winked, "I'm always excited to see someone as sexy as you."

I stood up and started to walk off, that was until one of his cocky friends slapped my ass. Before I turned around, I gritted my teeth. "Hey, hands off the merchandise." I gave him a flirty smile, running my finger down his lanky chest. This guy wasn't as good looking as the one with the erection. He tensed, and I couldn't help but feel satisfied when I looked down at his jeans and moaned. "Nice," I winked and walked off. Inside, I was disgusted by everything that went down. I felt like I was being unfaithful to Dimitri.

When I reached our table, I took a shot of vodka just to take the edge off. All the girls laughed, "Two birds, one stone," Viktoria winked.

"You bet, its how I roll," I retorted.

We continued on with that game until most of us were drunk out of our minds. The only completely sober person was Lissa. "Come on, girls. I think we should head back to the hotel."

Everyone agreed and we stumbled through the dark streets, back to the hotel. We didn't cross paths with the guys again, which I was grateful for. Dimitri would be disappointed if he saw me like this. I couldn't even walk in a straight line and my heels were starting to hurt my feet. Viktoria and I fell into my room, giggling at the fact that it took us fifteen minutes to get the key in the door. Tasha, Mia and Liss weren't far behind us.

"Shh," Tasha chastised before giggling a bit. "Okay. Let's blindfold Lissa. We have a surprise for you."

Mia tied a piece of material around her eyes and I couldn't stop giggling. Lissa is going to have a heart attack when she finds out what we did for her. Viktoria guided her to a chair in the middle of the room and I threw some confetti around randomly. It was time to make this place look more like a party. Tasha handed me a box of condoms and I almost gasped. Out of these past days that Dimitri and I have been searching, Tasha had some all along.

"Blow them up and tie off the ends. They can be used as balloons." She explained. I got to work, determined, but also goofing off a bit. They were flavoured and tasted extremely good.

Lissa laughed nervously, "What are you guys doing?"

"Chill, Lissa. We'll be done soon!" I wasn't sure who had said that, Mia and I were still giggling over the condoms. Neither of us had ever used flavoured ones before.

Apparently, someone had been sensible and bought actual balloons. We blew them up until feeling light headed. They soon coated a layer on the floor. I threw some more confetti around. Mia grabbed some glitter from her handbag and I started wandering what else she had in there. "Hazzah!" She shouted, sprinkling some in my face.

I laughed. We were pretty retarded. "Okay, okay!" I slurred loudly. "We're ready."

Viktoria and Tasha exited the room, soon coming back with two male strippers that we had hired. Mia and I burst into drunken hysterics when we saw that they were dressed up as naughty policemen. "You ready Liss?" I asked, standing behind her. She nodded eagerly and I pulled off the blindfold.

She blinked a few times and waited for her eyes to adjust. When she caught sight of the strippers, she blushed. One of the men grinned, "So you must be the bride-to-be?"

Lissa nodded timidly. Tasha walked over to Mia's iPod and pressed play. Low by Flo Rida and T-Pain came on. The lights were dimmed and us girls sat in a semi-circle. The two strippers started dancing erotically while we took some tequila shots and played truth or dare.

"Rose, truth or dare?" Lissa asked me. She was trying to avert her eyes away from the half naked dancers. They had each unbuttoned their shirts but kept them on. Viktoria was wearing a pair of the blonde guys sunnies while I wore the brunette guys police hat.

"Dare," I slurred.

"I dare you to dance with them," she pointed to the strippers. I jumped up and moved between them. We grinded against each other, me in the middle.

_Shawty had them apple bottom jeans  
boots with the fur (with the fur)  
and the whole club was looking at her  
She hit the floor_

I dropped to the floor and slowly came back up.

_Next thing you know  
shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low_.

The three of us got dropped down low a bit, swaying our hips, as it repeated that word. We sprung back up again and started to dance. All the girls were laughing.

_Them baggy sweat pants  
and the Reeboks with the straps (with the straps)  
She turned around and gave that big booty a smack (Hey!)_

I bent over a little and one of the strippers spanked me. A laugh escaped my lips. Tasha jumped up and joined in.

_She hit the floor  
Next thing you know  
shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low_

Tasha and I sung loudly in each other's faces. Lissa was chuckling hysterically. My female dancing companion started to take off the blonde stripper's unbuttoned shirt, while they thrust their hips together. The Brunette guy behind me had caught sight of my engagement ring and didn't do anything to compromising with me as we danced.

When the song ended, both men were shirtless and Tasha and I were covered in glitter. I wasn't exactly sure where it had come from, but I couldn't care less. My alcoholic buzz kept me energised. The strippers slowly unbuttoned their pants and I covered Viktoria's eyes. "Your brother will kill me if I let you see this."

She laughed, "Awe come on, Rose."

Everyone squealed in surprise, when instead of slowly teasing us, they just ripped them straight off! Viktoria had peered around my hand with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. I averted my gaze and met Lissa's. It felt weird to the both of us. We're each engaged and perving on male strippers. Suddenly, Mia received a lap dance. She was enjoying herself, that was clear, and I couldn't stop laughing.

Bachelorette parties. Wow, I should attend them more often. I've had more fun tonight then I ever have in my life.


	13. Greek Wedding

**I'm going to answer a few questions to some reviewers.**

_**Dimka-roza-belikova**_**  
Sorry, but if I write a DPOV of Christian's party it would be extremely boring. I wouldn't know where to start, and it would mainly just be poker and strippers. I'm terrible at thinking of dialogue between guys, especially since I'm female myself. I mean, they are grown men and I only know about the immature stuff that teenage boys talk about at school. Sorry to disappoint but I just think it would put a downer on the story.**

_**Do'B**_**  
Don't worry. Tasha is **_**not**_** after Dimitri. She has her own love interest. I'm just trying to gradually build up their relationship. Thank you for reviewing on almost every chapter. And thanks for all the bachelorette party ideas, but I finished writing the chapter before I saw your reviews. Sorry. But I probably will use those games later on in my story.**

_**Everyone else**_**  
Some of you are wondering is Rose and Dimitri will have another baby. Just relax. I won't finish this story until everyone is happy and justice is served **

**Anyway, back to the story. Here it is, the long awaited Greek wedding!**

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_Bachelorette parties. Wow, I should attend them more often. I've had more fun tonight then I ever have in my life._

"Rose, wake up." Lissa cried, "Today is the day."

I groaned. Where am I? When I opened my eyes, I was met with my soft white pillow... covered in glitter. What the hell happened last night? My head was pounding and my body was stiff. I slowly rolled over. My head was pounding, and I knew that I was probably still a little drunk this morning. I didn't remember much from last night, but I did know that I drank enough alcohol to kill a grown man.

I slowly sat up, dizziness overtaking me as I did. The dress I wore from last night had ridden up my hips and my legs were tangled in the white blanket. Confetti stuck to my body from where it had been on the bed. Glitter covered almost every inch of me and my mouth tasted foul. Some furniture in my suite was knocked over and when I shuffled to the side of the bed, I hit a few empty tequila bottles. Man, did I really drink all that? I should be dead right now.

I lazily pulled the blanket off of my clammy legs. One of my heels was missing and I had confetti stuck to my legs. The bond was filled with excitement and nerves. Today Lissa would finally marry Christian. I slowly stood up, swaying and falling back onto the bed, groaning. My hangover was too intense.

"I'm up," I moaned in agony. The pain I am experiencing this morning is way past killer. It's more suicidal.

Mia and Tasha walked in, carrying their bridesmaids' dresses in plastic covers. All three of us looked like shit, whereas Lissa looked vibrant and glowing. She didn't drink at all. Mia's makeup from last night was smudged and I'm pretty sure mine was too. Strong nausea took over me, "Ugh, I'm going to throw up."

Lissa quickly grabbed a pot plant and held it out for me to vomit in. Wait, a pot plant? How the hell did I end up with a pot plant in my room? When I finished emptying my stomach, Lissa set it aside, her face screwed up in disgust. I tried to get up a second time. After throwing up, I felt a little better. The nausea was gone but the headache continued to pound. I took off my heel and threw it somewhere in the room. Lissa placed a hand on my arm and I felt the magic of spirit go to work on me. The hot and cold tingle chased away my headache.

"Go take a shower," Lissa told me, "You smell horrible."

"Why thank you," I mumbled, sarcastically.

I stood in front of the mirror for a good five minutes, peeling confetti off my skin and trying to pluck it from my birds nest hair. Eventually I just gave up and peeled off my dress. The makeup from the night before had been smudged underneath my eyes and my lipstick had worn off but stained my lips a little. My rigid body gladly welcomed the hot water. I lathered up my hair with some shampoo and then rinsed it out. Some of the confetti washed away with it, but some remained. The rest of the crepe paper didn't have a chance against the conditioner. It effortlessly slid out of my hair and I lathered up my skin in strawberry body wash. The glitter was the most challenging. The tiny sparkles refused to let go of my skin; I ended up scrubbing until my skin turned red and raw.

The fogged up mirror and steamy room slowly cooled down as I dried myself. I wrapped the towel around my clean body and brushed my teeth before padding back into the bedroom. Mia and Tasha each stood in their bridesmaid dresses. They were the exact same as mine, tailored to fit their bodies. I had never gone into great detail over the dress, but looking at it once again, I couldn't help but admire its beauty. It was tight around the bust, pleated intricately, and underneath that was a tight band. The rest was flowing and extremely flattering. [**Picture on profile**] I walked over to my suitcase and found some underwear and a strapless white bra. We were all girls, so I didn't bother going into the bathroom again.

Lissa handed me my dress, as you may have already gathered, she knew about my history of not folding clothes neatly. So Lissa volunteered to look after my dress. She zipped me up and made sure that my wet hair was tied up in a bun. That way the dress wouldn't be ruined before the ceremony.

We didn't have hair or makeup artists because the look Lissa is aiming for is natural beauty. I told her to sit on the chair in front of the vanity and styled her hair into soft flowing wavy curls. Her hair is just as long as mine and reached past her breasts. Tasha did her makeup while Mia got her dress ready.

Tasha did a wonderful job on Lissa's makeup. It was all nude colours and looked like she was hardly wearing any at all. "Shotgun being next," I said.

"Sure thing, Rose." Tasha laughed before sitting me in a chair and getting started on my makeup. I felt someone tugging and pulling at my hair with a brush. As I waited for them to finish up, I relaxed and listened to the gentle breeze hitting the wind chimes on the balcony. Someone must have opened up the balcony doors because the wind soon rustled my hair lightly.

"What colour lip gloss would you like?" I opened my eyes to see Lissa holding up three different colours. Nude, light pink and clear.

"I'll use my own," I said with a small smile. She shrugged and I walked over to my suitcase and pulled out the lip gloss that Dimitri had given me after a shopping trip to Missoula. It was almost empty and I practically scooped the sides to get enough for my lips. Its cherry flavoured and a nice nude colour.

I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. My makeup and hair was like Lissa's only that they didn't have to curl my hair because it was already in loose curls. That was just how my natural hair shape is and I enjoyed it.

While Tasha did Mia's hair and makeup I walked over to Lissa. She was wearing white undergarments and was taking her dress from its plastic cover. "Uh-uh," I tsked. "Not before you go through traditions."

"What do you mean?" She frowned.

Tasha walked over and held out a black velvet box. "Something old..." I told her. I knew that inside was a beautiful antique ring. "Something new..." I added before Mia walked over and handed over a braided head band to place in her hair. "Something borrowed..." I said, pulling a white and gold garter from my suitcase and handing it to her. "And something blue..." All of us presented Lissa with a little blue hairclip that she used to wear when we were kids.

She gasped, tears forming in her eyes. "Oh thank you so much. The ring is so beautiful."

Tasha smiled, "It was Christian's mother's wedding ring. It would mean the world to me if you wore it."

"Of course." Lissa said, slipping it on her index finger and hugging Tasha. "Rose, where on earth did you find this hairclip?"

I smiled, "guardian secrets. Oh by the way, I don't want the garter back if Christian's grotty mouth is going to touch it." I shivered.

The girls laughed. "Thank you Rose."

The rest of the day was spent getting ready. Once we were dressed and presentable in our peach-coloured dresses, we left the hotel. None of us were wearing shoes because the ceremony and reception are being held on a secluded beach and there is no point to wear heels in sand. Each of us had unique bouquets' to carry down the aisle. Mine are red roses—obviously. Tasha has a bouquet of white and Mia held borage—a bunch of blue flowers with delicate green leaves and a violet centre. And last but not least—Lissa. She held a whole lot of white carnations.

Lissa, Tasha, Mia and I all walked down the very mountainous Greece and down at least ten set of stairs and walkways before reaching the bottom. It was almost sunset and the candles of the reception tables glowed in the distance, but what really caught my attention was the ceremony.

It is absolutely beautiful. White chairs with large peach-coloured bows on them were lined up perfectly, leaving a space down the middle as the aisle. At the make-shift altar a large arch of Ivy stood with twinkling gold fairy lights. Rose petals were spread down the aisle and candles littered every flat surface. At the end of the aisle stood the priest, Christian, Eddie, Adrian and last but not least, Dimitri. Sigh.

He looked every bit the god I had suspected him to be. He wore a black tux with a white dress shirt, black dress shoes and pants, a black tie and a black vest underneath his jacket. Dimitri's tux pocket held a red rose to match my bouquet. Adrian and Eddie were dressed in similar outfits but they each had different flowers. Adrian has white jasmine, to match Tasha, and Eddie had borage, to match Mia's. Christian's suit was slightly different to the others.

He wore the standard black tux, but instead of a black vest underneath, he wore a white one. His pocket held a beautiful white carnation to match Lissa's bouquet. Guests were piling in to their seats and I was shocked to see that the queen had come, amongst many other royals. There was someone from at least every royal family here. Guardians kept a wide perimeter and were hard to notice. The sun had started to set and just as the sky turned orange, violins started to play.

I clutched Lissa's hand tightly in mine and we held up our bouquets with our free hands. "Ready Liss?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she agreed. We both took a deep breath and watched as Tasha and Mia ascended down the aisle and took up a post at the altar. The music suddenly changed to the bridal march and all the guests stood and turned to face the back.

Lissa and I counted to three before taking our first step and continued to do so. Neither of us could keep the smile off our faces. I could feel just how happy Lissa was through the bond and she couldn't tear her eyes away from Christian. I, however, couldn't tear my eyes from Dimitri. We hadn't seen each other since that brief glance before Lissa's bachelorette and I could see his longing and need for me on display.

Lissa and I finally reached the altar and she passed me her bouquet. I took my rightful stance at the altar and got ready for the speech.

"Dearly beloved we are gathered here today, in the sight of God and those..." Blech. I tuned out of the priest and just watched the faces of crying, happy guests. "If any man can show just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him speak now, or else hereafter forever hold his peace." No one objected and I internally smirked. Good. If anyone had then I would have gotten to 'know' them better over a knuckle sandwich.

"Christian, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, keep hold onto her, as long as you both shall live?" Whoa, what a speech.

"I do," Christian said with uttermost confidence and a kiss-ass grin.

"Vasilisa, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honour, and keep him in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, keep hold onto him, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," she agreed, also smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"Repeat after me," The priest said. Eddie stepped forward with the rings on the palm of his hand.

Christian started to recite the priest's words. "I, Christian, take thee Vasilisa to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." He took a gold band from Eddie's hand and slipped it on Lissa's ring finger.

I could feel tears forming in my eyes and heard multiple sniffles from behind me. Without turning around, I already knew who was crying. Tasha. She probably never thought she'd see the day when Christian would marry the woman he loves. And me? Well Lissa is practically my sister. I always assumed it would just be us two and seeing her now, with the man she loves... it's almost enough to bring me to tears. With that thought, a traitor droplet rolled down my cheek.

Within my revelry I had missed Lissa's vowels and the priest said, "I now pronounce you husband and wide. You may kiss your bride."

Lissa and Christian both leaned into a passionate kiss and the audience erupted into applause. I couldn't clap because I was holding two bouquets, but that didn't stop tears of happiness roll down my cheeks. When they pulled apart the priest blessed the happy couple with spruces of Ivy to place in their hair. It was traditional at Greek weddings and the Ivy symbolises endless love.

The newlyweds walked down the aisle, hand-in-hand, with huge-ass smiles on their faces. I walked to the centre of the altar and linked my arm with Dimitri's and we both made our way down the aisle. Further down the beach was where the reception is being held. After all the bridal party left the ceremony, the guests started to disperse and we all walked down to the reception.

There were at least a hundred tables. One for every royal family, plus non-royals. They were circular and draped with white table clothes, decorated with Ivy and candles. The bridal party got to sit at a long rectangular table, overlooking the rest of the reception. Unfortunately, I didn't get to sit next to Dimitri. Tasha sat at the far end, followed by Mia, then me, Lissa, then Christian, Dimitri, Eddie and last of all, Adrian.

We were served with seafood dishes and ate in comfortable chatter. Lissa and Christian couldn't keep their hands off each other and I knew that I better start practicing my mental walls for later tonight. After dinner it was time for Lissa to throw her bouquet. All the non-committed ladies headed down to the beach and got ready to catch it. I winked at Mia when she reluctantly walked down there.

I walked over to Dimitri and he pulled me on to his lap. "You are too beautiful for your own good," he said in awe.

"You don't look to bad yourself. I missed you, comrade." I pouted

"I missed you too, Roza. But sexy women, such as you, shouldn't pout." Dimitri gave me one of his rare smiles that made my heart speed up. I giggled and he pulled me in for a passionate, lingering kiss. Suddenly I heard screams of excitement and looked further down the beach where all the women readied themselves to catch the bouquet of carnations.

"Thank god I'm not single," I murmured. Dimitri chuckled and kissed my neck, running his fingers through my hair.

Lissa threw the bouquet and I couldn't believe who had caught it. Viktoria stood, cheeks a blazing red, and carnations in hand. I nudged Eddie, "Looks like your next!"

Dimitri growled which made me laugh. I climbed off his lap and ran down the beach, holding up my dress. "Oh my god, Vika!" I screamed in excitement. We embraced and I dragged her back up to the tables where all the single ladies sat looking dejected. Lissa had returned to our bridal table and was all over Christian once again.

"Rose, it's time for speeches," Tasha announced. Crap. I am no good at these.

I picked up a flute of Champaign and pulled out a crumbled piece of paper that held my speech. It wasn't very good and had scribbles all over the page, along with multiple spelling mistakes. The whole party seemed to have quietened and all eyes were on me.

With a deep breath and a clear of my throat, I started.

"Hey. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Rose. I've known Lissa ever since I can remember and she is the closest thing I have to a sibling. First of all, I would like to congratulate Christian and Lissa. Many months ago I thought Christian was a disaster waiting to happen," some people laughed, "and I thought that Lissa was insane for liking someone as annoying as him. But as time went on, and their relationship grew, I knew that they were perfect for each other. I just didn't want to admit it and never hear the end of it from Christian," more laughter, "Christian has a whole other emotional side to him, the kind of emotions that only someone as sweet and genuine as Lissa could bring out." Lissa smiled at me, "Liss has changed a lot since she met Christian, she became more responsible, independent and aware of the smaller things."

"Now, I thought I should offer some words of wisdom to the newly married couple about married life, but since I've never been married I can't draw from personal experience. Remember, all you need to know—you learned in Kindergarten. So here are my words of advice, but I want you two to stand, face each other, look each other in the eyes and swear to do all this:

Share everything (including the bed covers). Play fair, don't hit people," I shot Christian a pointed look and he laughed. "Put things back where you found them, say please and thank you, clean up your own mess (Christian!)" A few people giggled, "Say you're sorry when you hurt someone, wash your hands before you eat, and most importantly," I turned to Christian again and gave him a stern look, "flush!" More laughter and wolf whistles erupted from the crowd.

I laughed a little myself and continued, "On a serious note, I would like to say that I am honoured to be your maid of honour and that I am still amazed at how different your personalities are. You are perfect together and I wish you luck and happiness. Now it gives me immense pleasure, and relief, to invite you all to raise your glasses in a toast to Lissa and Christian. To love, laughter and happily ever after..."

There was a chorus of 'cheers!' and I quickly downed my Champaign before taking a seat and grabbing another. "That was amazing Rose!" Lissa said.

"Thanks Liss," I said with a small smile.


	14. Surprise Visit

**I know, I know. It's been practically two months since I last updated.**

**And I am so, so sorry. But I've had hardly any time to write anymore.**

**Well anyway, here is part two of Lissa's wedding. There is lots of Rose and Dimitri in this chapter.**

**And there is also a surprising ending. Oh and there will also be a part three, but I'm not sure if part three will also include a hangover scene between Rose and Dimitri yet...**

**Anyhooo, I shall not keep you in suspense any longer. Hope you enjoy and please please review and let me know you are still reading my poorly updated story.**

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"_Thanks Liss," I said with a small smile._

After the speeches, it was time to mingle. And since I wasn't particularly great at it, I just stuck by Dimitri's side. He rested me on his lap and fed me chocolate coated strawberries, deliberately smearing chocolate around my lips and then licking it off. I couldn't help but laugh.

"That wasn't very nice, comrade."

"No," he agreed. "But you sure do taste good."

I smirked and playfully stuck my tongue out at him. What he did next shocked me, before my tongue retreated behind my lips, he covered it with his mouth and prod it with his own. An involuntary groan escaped my throat.

We were suddenly interrupted by Lissa. "Sorry to interrupt, but if you keep sucking face like that then you will miss mine and Christian's first dance as a married couple."

I rolled my eyes, "yeah, like I wanna see you and sparky getting all intimate and stuff. I've seen enough to last me a life time." I tapped my head and Lissa pulled a face at me. "What are you? Five?"

She laughed, "Almost."

Christian hauled her away before I could respond. I just shrugged it off and decided it was time to feed Dimitri chocolate coated strawberries. Watching his tongue, lips and teeth working in unison were doing horrible things to my body. I quickly stopped feeding him when I started to become flustered. Dimitri immediately picked up on it and chuckled.

He decided to torture me some more. "Mmm," he moaned, "Yum."

"Oh, you are so in for it." I grumbled under my breath.

"I'm sorry, Roza. What was that?" Dimitri smiled.

"I said, those pants are a bit of a tight fit." I wiggled on his lap and he groaned. Dimitri's semi-hard erection pressed against my ass. I grinned in satisfaction, "My, my Dimitri. Is that a rock in your pants, or are you just happy to see me?"

Dimitri looked around at all the guests and then pulled me close so that his lips pressed against my ear. "Cock block, Rose. Cock block."

I laughed, "You better start reciting your timetable in Russian, comrade. Or we might have a serious problem. Don't want to lose control in front of all these people do you?" I feigned innocence and ran my fingers over his bulge.

He groaned, "Do that one more time and I'll have my way with you bent over the table."

My eyes widened at the suggestive comment. By the tone of his voice I could tell he was serious. "Getting frisky, are we?"

"Oh baby, you haven't even heard the start of it."

Before I could bite back with a response, it was announced that Christian and Lissa would have their first dance. I climbed off of Dimitri and pulled him through the crowd. Everyone had formed a circle around the newlyweds and 'Hallelujah' started to play on the piano. I smiled and Dimitri stood behind me, arms wrapped around my waist and chin resting on the top of my head. Lissa looked beautiful, like an angel sent from heaven. Her gorgeous wedding gown flowed over her pregnant belly and brushed against the soft white sand. The look of joy and happiness on her face were an excellent description of her feelings through the bond. Excitement and fear for the future mingled with her romantic thoughts about Christian. And to be honest, I had to admit that Christian looked pretty decent too. His expression mirrored Lissa's as he held her close and they swayed to the rhythm.

Halfway through the song, they started to whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears and smile. On a normal occasion, I would have gagged, but this is their wedding day and I didn't want to screw it up by being immature. I was so, so happy for them both. Never had I thought I would see the day when my best friend would get married to her one true love. I guess I always assumed that it would just be us two on the road together, but then we were dragged back to the Academy and amazingly found our soul mates. A goofy smile of pride crossed my face when I looked at Lissa. No longer would she be the dependant, self conscious, fragile Moroi I had known and loved. From this day forward she would live her own life, become independent and start her own family. And this made me so happy.

The only thought that saddened Lissa on her big day was the fact that her family couldn't be here to see it. She was worried that they may have been disappointed that she is marrying into the Ozera family and not carrying on the Dragomir line, but I knew that if they could see her radiant joy, they wouldn't have cared who she married. Eric and Rhea loved Lissa very much and I know that they would only ever want her to be happy, not politically correct. And her happiness is with Christian. God, I sound like a cheesy romance novel. I turned to face Dimitri and grabbed his hands.

"Let's dance," I grinned. He followed me like a lost puppy into the middle of the circle near Lissa and Christian. We all smiled at each other and then Dimitri wrapped his arms around my waist as the song changed. The two of us swayed from side to side like two kids at prom. Apparently neither of us was that great at dancing. He tugged me closer and I wound my arms around his warm neck. All I could see, smell and hear was Dimitri. The twinkling fairy lights and candles reflected off of his smooth skin and shone in his chocolate eyes. His aftershave surrounded me until I felt lightheaded and he spoke in Russian as I rested my head on his chest and gripped his jacket in my hands. I felt him nuzzle into my hair and we eventually stopped moving and just stood in a quiet embrace as other couples fluttered around us.

"I love you," he whispered so quietly that I wasn't even sure if he had said those words. Before I could respond, I was whisked away by Viktoria. The song had changed into a more upbeat one and she apparently wanted to dance with me.

"Stop hogging her," she said to Dimitri before pulling me away. I laughed when I saw Dimitri's annoyed expression. He was soon blocked from my view by other dancers and I pouted.

"Vika..." I whined and tried to walk off, but then Tasha came and grabbed my hand and started to dance beside Viktoria. I sighed and joined in, eventually loosening up and having just as much fun as everyone else. Lissa joined in and I was sure that the four of us looked like a very strange group. Waiters were walking between everyone, offering Champaign glasses. I gladly took one, grateful for the relief to my thirst. We danced for about five songs and then I went looking for Dimitri. He wasn't at the bridal table, so I weaved through guests and looked around. With a frown, I gave up and looked out at the ocean, only to see a tall figure standing by the water's edge. I smiled, knowing that muscular figure anywhere. On the way, I grabbed a bottle of red wine and held up my dress so I could run.

"Dimitri!" I called.

He turned to look at me and grinned.

"I was looking for you," I slowed when I reached him and he gave me a one armed hug.

"Sorry. But it's just so peaceful down here." The gorgeous brown eyes that I fell in love with glanced out at the dark water. The sun had set a little while ago and the only light came from the reception party, which meant the water looked as black as night.

"It is," I agreed with a small smile. Leave it to Dimitri to find something peaceful in everything he does.

"Come on," he murmured, clutching my hand and pulling me along the soft sand.

"Where are we going?" I asked, but he didn't answer. After a few silent moments I saw a dark cave-like structure carved into the surface of a rocky cliff. Dimitri sat on one of the large rocks and pulled me down onto his lap. He discarded his jacket, unbuttoned his vest and rolled up his sleeves. With a soft sigh, I snuggled up to him and revelled in his warmth.

That wonderful musky scent of aftershave filled my senses and made me inhale deeply. Sitting here in Dimitri's protective arms made me feel warm all over. Our earlier lusty moment had passed and now it was just pure, unconditional love. We were both enjoying each other's company, like lovers should.

"When we're done with all this," Dimitri started, waving his hand in the air. "After Christmas and New Years, I want to start planning our wedding. And other things."

I nodded and then back-tracked. "What kind of other things?"

He took a deep breath. "Rose... I know you're still a little upset and touchy when the subject of kids comes up. But I want... no, I need to know that you won't give up the thought of having a family."

Dimitri sounded worried and uncertain. I was shocked and hurt that he would think that I would give up on having a family with him. But then again, I hadn't exactly been fiancée of the year either. "Dimitri, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry that I lost our baby. And although I have gotten some emotional scars from such an experience, there is no way I would ever give up the opportunity to have a family with you." I looked up into his hopeful eyes. "I love you."

He bent down to give me a sweet kiss, absentmindedly reaching for the wine I still held. "Thank you, Roza. You don't know how much this means to me, and I think a little celebration of our own is in order."

My lover cracked open the wine and took a sip before passing it to me. I wasn't sure how long we sat there, passing back and forth the alcohol and staring out at the reflection of a full moon on the ocean, but it was apparently long enough for us to become more than a little tipsy. We were both giggling at stories of Christian's bachelor party. Apparently one of the strippers threw up on Adrian, and although I didn't like the idea of Dimitri around half naked dancing ladies, I would be a hypocrite by getting angry. Because I also had spent last night with some half naked strippers.

"So, I guess you had fun?" I concluded.

He smiled, eyes distant with amusement as he recalled last night's events, "Yes."

I straddled his lap, "And you enjoyed spending a night with the guys?"

"Yes," he replied, suddenly zoning in on my seductive movements. My lips mere inches from his. "But I did wish that you were there."

"Hmm, Rose Hathaway in the same room as a group of _female_ strippers? I don't think so." I murmured seductively, Dimitri's lips brushing against mine as I spoke. "But male strippers? Perhaps..."

Dimitri cut me off with a kiss. Obviously he didn't want to hear about my escapades at Lissa's party all that much. However, he certainly enjoyed the attention I was giving him. My fingers teasingly played with the buttons on his dress shirt before I ran my hands up his chest and removed his black vest. His restless hands made their way up my dress and his fingertips caressed my panties. I moaned, just waiting for him to find that wonderful little area that throbbed in abandon. But the pleasurable touch of his hand never came, and instead retreated back down my thighs. With a groan of protest I moved against his erection. Our lust from earlier at desert had bought a one-way ticket to the sex cave.

My shaky hands fumbled with the belt that held up his pants and his soft lips trailed kisses down my neck. He brushed my hair aside with one hand. I wasn't sure where the other hand had disappeared to because I was so focused on the wonderful member that strained against his cotton boxers. Dimitri gasped when my fingertips slipped underneath the fabric and was now skin on skin contact. It was also at that moment when my lover found my sex.

It was months of pent-up sexual tension, but I knew Dimitri wouldn't make love to me unless he was wearing a condom, something we didn't have with us at the moment. And as he touched me and brought me closer to the edge a very reckless voice in my head screamed, _oh screw the protection and fuck me!_ Without really considering my actions, I wiggled closer to him and started to move over his lap and try to take of my panties, but he stopped me.

Slowly, he recoiled from my neck, where he had been suckling and biting. "Roza," his voice was thick and husky with lust and I knew he was using all of his self-control to stop. "I'm not going to have sex with you on a beach, where any perverted creep could be watching."

I sighed, knowing he had a point, and pulled back. "Okay."

I didn't meet his eyes; for fear that if I did I wouldn't be able to stop from violating him. But he apparently had no qualms and tilted my chin up with his index finger. He had a small, amused smile and said, "you're blushing."

My eyes widened and I brought a hand to my heated cheek. "No way."

"You've been doing it a lot tonight." He chuckled.

How embarrassing. I cast my eyes away again and gasped when I saw a distant figure walking towards us. They were far enough away to not have seen what took place, but they were still close enough to see our silhouettes. All the blood drained from my face before heating up again. I don't think I've ever been so embarrassed in one night. Dimitri followed my gaze and stiffened, before quickly tucking his aching member back inside his pants and zipping them up.

When he finished with the belt buckle, he pulled my dress down from where it had ridden up my thighs and exposed my white panties. By now the person was close enough for me to make out that it was a woman, a very short woman with curly red hair... hair that could only belong to the one and only Janine Hathaway.

"Fuck," I swore.


	15. Janine Hathaway

**Okay, so here is the new chapter. I think some of you will be surprise by Janine's reaction to their relationship.**

**I updated this quicker because I was so lousy the last time. This chappy is also my longest yet. 3,320 words :)**

** I really hope you enjoy this chapter and review :)**

**Please give me good feedback, and please only give constructive criticism. **

**-Tas**

* * *

"_Fuck," I swore._

An awkward silence passed over us. It was inevitable, really. I knew that someday I would have to face my mother and tell her everything, but being a coward had prevented it. I was afraid. There was no other way to explain it. Ever since I was little, I had only wanted to earn my mother's love and respect. It was a frightening truth that I never wanted to admit to myself. I held my legendary mother with the stellar reputation on a pedestal, but all this time, all these years I never realised what I have tonight. A child shouldn't have to earn their mother's love. I had always been afraid of what my mother thought of me, fearful that she would disown me more than she already has. But the truth was, that my tough upbringing had just made me stronger. It was exactly what she wanted. My mother, as cruel as she may seem sometimes, didn't want me getting hurt easily and by treating me like an unwanted kid that's exactly what happened. She hurt me.

And even though I understand now that it was all for the greater good, for my wellbeing, I just couldn't seem to shake the taunts she passed me the last time we met. Dimitri was tense beneath me as my mother finally reached us. Her guardian mask was strong, but there was a storm brewing in her eyes. I got off of my fiancée's lap and smoothed the creases in my dress before throwing my mother an indifferent look. Dimitri scampered up beside me, making sure nothing rash happened.

"Mum," I said, not able to keep surprise out of my voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm doing my security rounds."

"Security round—" I cut myself off. How could I have been so unobservant?

My mother was clearly not a guest. She wore the black and white formal guardian attire. "The Princess invited me as a guest, but I politely declined since I was already drafted onto the team of guardians securing this reception."

"Oh," was my oh-so-perfect answer.

"What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be at the party?" She shot a suspicious look to Dimitri, and although that angered me, she had every right. We hadn't exactly been frolicking along the sand; we had been engaged in a hot make out session. And boy was I glad that Dimitri stopped us when he did. Otherwise this meeting would have been a hell of a lot more awkward.

"Um, we were just talking..." I lied.

"It didn't look like you were talking." My mother retorted, instantly detecting the lie. "Do you want to tell me what you were really doing?" She turned to Dimitri with accusation clear in her eyes. "And would you like to explain why the hell my _eighteen_ year old daughter was sitting on your lap?"

Dimitri remained calm whilst I started to yell in outrage. "Who the fuck are you to step into my life and order me around? We don't have to tell you shit!"

"Rose," the gentle accented voice calmed me almost instantly. My mother was gaping at me in stunned silence. Dimitri decided to continue for me. "The last time I checked, a man is allowed to fornicate with his fiancée as long as it's not the night before their wedding."

I almost choked on my own bodily fluids. I couldn't believe Dimitri just politely told my mother that we were about to have sex. If my mother was stunned before, she was completely catatonic now. She could only stare in astonishment at the two of us, and kept opening and closing her mouth like a fish. Normally I would have found this funny, if my lover hadn't just exposed our sex like to my... whoa, whoa. Hold up. Did he just say fiancée? Oh my God. Dimitri just told our mother that we're engaged. She's going to have a cow.

Just like me, my mother seemed to cling on to that particular word, and forgot all about the admission of our sexual relations. "Fiancée?" She croaked, her Scottish accent laced her broken words. "You're engaged?" Something evil flashed in her eyes.

"Yes," I said softly, hoping it would ease the hurricane about to come.

Only it didn't. My mother didn't scream, or hit, or curse, or do any of the things that are usually in her repertoire. Instead, she took a few hesitant steps forward, her eyes glistening. "Rose, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because... I thought you wouldn't care or that you would get angry and disown me." I admitted, sheepishly.

"You thought I wouldn't care? Rose, I know I haven't been the best mother in the world, but you are my daughter. I have a right to know that you are getting married to a man seven years your senior. And besides, it would have given me more time to make sure he is good to you." She shot a hesitant look to Dimitri and said, "I always knew you were influencing her somehow. At school, nothing seemed to get her to behave until you showed up. I just couldn't place it."

"Dimitri _is_ good to me," I confirmed as he wrapped me in his arms. "He was good to me at school, when I graduated, whilst I was pregnant, and he's good to me now."

I didn't realise my mistake until after it slipped from my mouth. Shit. "Pregnant?" My mother whispered, her eyes blazing. "Rose, I warned you. I told you to stay away from those Moroi. I told you that they only want you for what you put out, not who you are." Anger shone in her brown eyes and I cringed away from her, hurt that she would think so low of me. But then again, the only people who know that shadow-kissed dhampirs conceive with other dhampirs are my close friends, Dimitri's family and Dr. Olendzki.

"I didn't... I wouldn't... I never..." I couldn't seem to get the words out without choking on them. So Dimitri intervened.

"You may want to sit down," he suggested, pulling me back over on the rock we sat on before. Once I was comfortably placed in his lap again, we watched as my mother hesitated and then sat in front of us on the white sand. "Rose was a virgin when I met her," surprise flashed in my mother's eyes, but I was too worried to get angry. "After a few months of ignoring my feelings, and hers, I gave in and took her last strain of innocence. It was the night of the attack on the academy. Do you remember?"

My mother nodded, "I helped Rose save you in the caves."

"Thank you," he murmured and then launched back into the story. "We were together after that, in secret of course, and then we were attacked at the mall by a group of Strigoi. I... accidentally, um..." he trailed off. I knew that the memory of the day he killed me still hurt.

"I died and Lissa healed me, but Dimitri had attempted suicide by then. Anyway, we were brought back to the academy and healed. Things went on as normal, and then you showed up—"

"Rose, I... want to apologise. I knew what you were going through but I was so frightened by the fact that you were... dead. And I took my frustration out on you. It wasn't fair of me."

I nodded and Dimitri continued after recovering from the painful memory. "Rose and the Princess found out their bond had strengthened the second time Rose was healed and is now a two way connection. Anyway, for about two weeks Rose was throwing up in the mornings, but we thought it was just Lissa's morning sickness carrying through to her in the bond. And since I'm the only man she has slept with there was no possible way she could be pregnant."

"But then one morning, I got really sick but it wasn't from Lissa, since she was in the room with me." I intervened, "So Dimitri took me to the doctor and she gave me a pregnancy test. I was sceptical, and we ended up taking two. But they were both positive. We ran some tests and eventually came up with a theory."

"The doctor told us that everything was normal, for a dhampir, except for a few things. A normal person would only have five senses, but in Rose she found eight. So we made Rose give us a checklist. She has three extra senses that come as side effects of being shadow-kissed." My mother nodded, patiently. "She feels nauseas around Strigoi, sees ghosts and can mentally converse with the Princess."

"Anyway, the point is that these few extra senses mistaked my body for Lissa's which allows me to become pregnant with another dhampir, but _only_ whilst Lissa is pregnant. I can't conceive otherwise." My explanation was a lot briefer than Dimitri's, which I think my mother was grateful for.

"So... what happened to the baby?" She asked.

"I miscarried. It was unfortunate and devastating, but we'll try again someday." I gave her a smile, to show that I really am okay.

"You're engaged and used to be pregnant, all at the age of eighteen."

"Yes," I agreed.

She didn't say anything for a few moments and Dimitri held me in tense silence. My mother was studying us, as if she was trying to determine if he was really the right man for me. I held my breath, unknowingly until she spoke with approval. "Well, the way you two finish each other's stories and sentences is strange, but I can see that you will be good together."

Both Dimitri and I breathed out at the same time and then laughed. "Thank you," He told her.

She just nodded and then turned to me, "Rose... I don't want you to hate me anymore. I know I was terrible towards you, but it was because I didn't know a better way to raise you. I was so young when I fell pregnant, and your father decided that it was best he remained anonymous. This meant that I was alone. It's no excuse for the way I raised you, but I would still like to apologise. I would really like to start over and build a relationship with you. You are my only daughter after all." She gave me a soft smile, something rarely ever seen on her tough face.

I was surprised and could only nod, "Okay."

She moved to stand up and then seemed to remember something, "Oh, and talking about your father reminded me of something. He wants to meet you."

For the second time tonight, I successfully choked on my own saliva. "What?"

Dimitri helped me up, "When?" He asked once we were standing.

My mother shrugged and looked back at the reception party, "Soon, I guess. It was more of a demand than a request. He is a difficult man to control." She shot me a sly smile, "You definitely inherited his personality and looks, and sometimes I wonder if there is any of me in you at all."

"She got her sense of duty from you." Dimitri answered, "Rose is a great guardian."

Suddenly Lissa was filling my head with nagging thoughts. _Rose where are you? Christian and I are leaving soon. All the guardians that are going with us on our honeymoon are bringing the car around._

I groaned. Luckily, Dimitri and I hadn't been invited to tag along on the honeymoon and Lissa had hired about five guardians to watch over her and Christian when they go to Rome. _I'm talking to my mother. I'll be there soon_.

_Whoa, wait. You're Mum?_

_Yeah._

_Did you tell her about... you know, like, everything?_

I internally laughed. _Yeah, she seems to be okay with it all. My father wants to meet me, apparently._

_Oh, that's great news. Now get your curvy little ass back to the reception, my limo is here_.

"Lissa's leaving," I tuned back into my lover whom was talking to my mum about guardian stuff. I elbowed him, "hey, no work stuff. You promised before we left."

He smiled, "I was just asking if everything is going okay."

"That's still work stuff," I grumbled stubbornly. "Come on, Lissa is nagging me."

My mother, Dimitri and I all walked back to the reception in awkward silence. I was glad that she seemed to accept our relationship okay, but definitely nervous about meeting my father. He sounds like a control freak.

"Rose, Dimka!" Viktoria called, skipping over to us as my mother departed to do her rounds again. "Lissa has been looking everywhere for you. Who was that woman you were with?"

"My mother," I retorted. Viktoria turned nervous and surveyed Dimitri, obviously looking for any injuries. I laughed, "Everything is all good. Now where is Princess Pissy is pants?"

"Hey, I heard that!" Lissa cried as we reached her.

I chuckled and pulled her and Christian into a group hug. Lissa's large stomach made it awkward, but we managed. "Have fun in Rome. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Lissa laughed, "That leaves us heaps to do."

"I think I might miss you, Buffy," Christian ruffled my hair.

"I always knew you loved my company, firefly."

Dimitri gave Lissa a gentle two second hug and then said goodbye to Christian as they climbed into the limo, accompanied with their guardians. Lewis, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, was one of the last to enter. His eyes met mine and he gave me a nervous smile before the door shut. When we first met he had made me feel uneasy and gave me nightmares, but now he just seemed like a shy boy who didn't really have any friends. I felt sorry for him and vowed to hang out with him more when he got back, make him feel more welcome.

All the guests waved as the car drove away, trailing tin cans behind it and white paint that said 'Just Married'. I sighed and turned to Vika and Eddie who were sucking face, "Hey, break it up or you'll give Dimitri premature cardiac arrest." They're giggles caused them to pull apart. When Dimitri wasn't looking I sent a wink their way and whispered, "Take it to the Hotel room."

"Oh we will," Vika whispered back, grabbing Eddie's hand and calling out her 'goodnights' to Dimitri.

By the evil glint in my lover's eyes, I'd say that he heard what I had said. "You're corrupting my little sister, Rose."

"Oh, she's old enough to have sex," I waved my hand in exasperation and watched as the guests departed. "And besides, I bet you she isn't a virgin."

Dimitri took a step forward while I took a cheeky step back. "What makes you think that?"

"Because Russian men are dogs." I couldn't help but giggle at his scandalised expression, "and she has been seeing Eddie for a while."

"That doesn't mean that she has had sex."

"She is your little sister, Dimitri. She has to look innocent in your eyes. But not to anyone else."

"Are you calling her a slut?" He said with an amused smile.

"Of course not," I retorted defensively, "I just don't think that she is a virgin."

"Okay, I believe you. So... do you think all Russian men are dogs?" He asked, taking another step forward.

"Hmm..." I pretended to think about it and took another step backwards.

Dimitri placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt and then smiled. "You love me."

"No, I don't," I retorted cheekily.

My lover took another step forward, "Yes you do."

"Nope."

"Tell me you love me," he smirked.

"Nah, I don't." We kept moving backwards until Dimitri grew cheeky.

"Take it back."

"No," I laughed and ran as he moved towards me. He wasn't far behind me; I could hear his rough breathing. The only place I could really run to was the ocean, so I took a leap of faith and gripped my dress, running as fast as I could into the cool winter water. I got about knee length when I turned around and realised he wasn't following. He stood at the shore, smirking and removing his shoes, jacket and vest. Suddenly he was barricading through the water like a dog on heat.

I squealed and tried to escape, but he was too quick and picked me up. "Say you love me," he cried in fake hurt.

He started to tickle me, "I love you, I love you." I cried so that he would stop. "I love you so much!" Dimitri set me back down on my feet and smiled, wrapping his arms around me.

Our clothes were getting wet, but we didn't care. This moment was all that mattered. The romance was intense and we were suddenly enveloped in a passionate kiss. Heat flowed through us despite the Greek winter night. A full moon shone brightly above us, cascading us in a beautiful white glow. Our tongues brushed together softly. This moment wasn't about lust or sex or hormones. It was about love, pure and simple. Dimitri pulled back enough to look me in the eyes.

"I love you too."

I smiled and pulled him into another kiss, this one shorter but just as powerful. A cool breeze brushed against my skin, making me shiver. Dimitri pulled me to shore and wrapped his tux jacket around me. The bottom of my soaking dress stuck to my legs as we walked and sand caked itself onto my wet feet. We headed back to the hotel and went to my room. Most of the sand had brushed off, but still there was enough to leave footprints. I filled up the spa bath with a small amount of water and soaked my cold feet in there, getting all the grains off of me.

As I stepped out and finished drying my feet, Dimitri walked in and wrapped his arms around my waist. He looked at our reflection in the mirror and I leant my head back on his warm chest. His tie was missing and his sleeves were rolled up, exposing those muscular arms that made me feel safe and protected.

"Before, when you said that we could try again for kids, when exactly did you have in mind? Because once Lissa gives birth, we can't have any, and if she doesn't have any more kids then... we'd have to adopt, I guess." Dimitri murmured softly in my ear.

I stared at his reflection and the way his lips brushed against the top of my ear. "I want to get married before we have a baby." Dimitri nodded, looking a little disappointed, and rested his chin on the top of my head, "I suppose we could try for a baby now and have a shotgun wedding. I don't want to look like a fat whale on my wedding day, no offense to Lissa." I wrinkled my nose jokingly and Dimitri's face lit up like a kid on Christmas.

He turned me to face him, "Really? Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure in my life."


	16. Whoa, cowboy

**WOOOOOOOOO! TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY! I'M ON A ROLL!**

**I think you will really like this chappy. Lots of lemony goodness with RxD. I feel so motivated to write today! maybe it's all that coke I drank...**

**ANYWAAYYYYYYSSS! Enjoy :))))))**

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"_I've never been more sure in my life."_

After Dimitri got over the excitement my words had caused him, he lead me into the bedroom and then onto the balcony. I noticed as we passed through my room that the cleaning ladies must have tidied the place up because the bed was made and confetti no longer covered the floor. Tequila bottles had been thrown away and everything seems to be pristine and right, like it should have been in the first place.

Dimitri sat in one of the chairs on the balcony and I sat on his lap. We looked out at the ocean and twinkling fairy lights of the reception as it was cleaned up. Neither of us uttered a word and watched as the lights shut off and the beach fell into darkness. It was late and no one roamed the streets, well except for a few drunk guests leaving the party. By now Lissa would have reached the airport and checked in all of her luggage.

"Wow..." I muttered. "A whole two weeks without Lissa and Christian."

"I'm excited," Dimitri admitted sheepishly. "It gives us privacy once we return to court; you know how Lissa loves to just walk in to our apartment. Someday she will see something that she is not going to like."

"You've got a point," I joked. "But..." I wriggled in my position on his lap and straddled him. "What on earth kind of activities could Lissa not like? She's very spontaneous."

"I'm sure she won't be spontaneous when she walks in on some of our bedroom activities."

"Bedroom activities?" I asked innocently, "Whatever could you mean?"

Dimitri smiled, "well there was that time we played monopoly and you ran out of money so we started to use sex as a payment method. Or that time that I walked in on you in the shower and you were so sexually frustrated that you pulled me fully dressed under the spray. Oh and there was also—"

"Okay," I cut him off with a laugh. Most of these sexual activities had happened before my miscarriage, and reliving them like this was making me hot. "So we're very... spontaneous ourselves, I guess. And I see your point. Lissa would be scarred for life if she walked in on one of those moments."

"Yeah," he agreed. "You get a little rough."

Hey," I swatted his arm, "you like it rough." Dimitri opened his mouth to protest, but I kept talking. "You even told me that one time. 'Oh Roza, I love it when you get rough with me,'" I did a poor imitation of his voice during sex.

Dimitri chuckled and then turned serious, his fingertips trailing up my spine to my dress' zipper. "I want to go slow this time. Tonight is special, hopefully you'll conceive and besides, we have the rest of the week to be rough with each other."

I nodded as Dimitri picked me up and carried me inside like a small child. He gently placed me on my feet, his fingers never left my zipper and he slowly pulled it down until it wouldn't go any further. The strapless peach dress pooled at my feet and Dimitri took in my underwear with a smile. They weren't matching, the panties were grey and the strapless bra was stark white. I felt a little embarrassed and blood rushed to my cheeks as I blushed. It was silly to be so self conscious around Dimitri, but I couldn't help it. Every time with him is like the first. He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss. I resisted the temptation to deepen it, knowing that he wanted to take things slow.

My fingers found the buttons of his dress shirt and slowly unbuttoned it. He shrugged it off and I placed my hand on his chest, our lips never breaking apart. Dimitri deepened our kiss, but it didn't turn lusty and passionate, just remained soft and gentle. He stroked my cheek like I was a delicate glass ornament that would break with the slightest twitch of his fingers. I shivered as his fingertips trailed down my neck and his hand rested on my shoulder. My own hands slid down his muscular abdomen and found his belt buckle. My trembling fingers fumbled as his deep kiss triggered amazing endorphins in my body. Anticipation and nerves flooded my stomach and I knew that Dimitri had the butterflies all tied up.

His free hand rested on my bare hip and he pulled his lips back a bit. I let out a shaky breath, almost sounding like a swoon. He laughed softly and trailed his lips down my cheek, jaw and neck, before finally sucking on my collar bone. By now I had his undone and started to unbutton his pants and unzip them. He stopped me from pulling them down just yet and reached around to unclip my bra. His careful fingertips barely caressed my skin as he pulled the material away and let it fall to the floor. The cool air touching my warm skin made me shiver and goosebumps rose over my skin. His rough hands cupped the weight of my breasts and a tortured moan escaped my lips. My eyes closed and I knew that Dimitri was enjoying the power he has over me.

My hands found his pants again and I gave them a gentle tug whilst Dimitri played with me. They fell to the floor with a clunk from the belt buckle and he stepped out of them. A tent was forming in his cotton boxers which made me smile, excited that I had the same effect over him that he did over me. He ran his hands down my sides and stopped on my hips, pulling me close and bending his lips to my ear.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my temple. My nails dug into his hips lightly and he took the hint, laying me down gently on the bed with my head on the pillow. He hovered over me, his warm breath blowing onto my face. Dimitri kissed me for a few moments and then trailed kisses down my neck again, but this time he didn't stop at my collar bone. He kept going down, between my breasts and over my stomach, pausing at the top of my panties. He looked up at me, as if for permission. Whatever look I was giving him in that moment must have gave him the go-ahead because his fingers hooked into the sides and he slid the grey material down my legs and onto the floor.

He crawled back onto the bed and I expected him to come back up and kiss me, but apparently he had other ideas. His fingers found my centre, and although this was old news to me, what came next was something we definitely never tried. Before going down he looked up at me again, for more confirmation and then his tongue shot out and licked me. The moan that came was uncontrollable and I tensed a little. Dimitri has never gone down on me before and the thought excited and scared me all at the same time. I mean, I thought guys didn't like doing this kind of thing. He kept up his ministrations and the familiar feeling of pleasure bubbled up in the pit of my stomach. Another moan escaped and this only seemed to encourage him.

I didn't even think of how nervous he must be, obviously never having done this before either. My blind fingers found his hair and whatever he was doing down there definitely did _not_ lack enthusiasm. I was getting closer and closer, my moans becoming more frequent. I could feel it; the edge was so close I could almost taste it, my body tensed as I prepared to dive into euphoric ecstasy. But it never came. I groaned in frustration and opened my eyes to see Dimitri now leaning over me, looking amused. "You have the most beautiful expressions when we do stuff like this."

"Dimitri," I whimpered desperately. The heat that had been growing in my sex was now throbbing. My lover's erection pressed into my thigh, feeling harder than ever. Apparently going down on me was just as exciting for him as it was for me. I grabbed his boxers and pulled on them, Dimitri helped me shrug them off and then placed a loving kiss on my forehead, nose and then finally my lips. As we deepened it, I could taste myself on his tongue. It grew heady and deep as I felt the pressure of his member pushing into me, slowly.

We both groaned in unison as he pushed in to the hilt. Dimitri waited for a moment and kissed me some more. It only took a few seconds for me to adjust to the intrusion of my body and unmistakable lust made me wriggle my hips against his. He took the hint and pulled out a bit, only to thrust back in. We took it slow at first, just getting used to the feel of each other during sex again and then our movements became a little faster. My legs wrapped themselves around Dimitri as he moved in and out, careful not to crush me with all of his weight. Not that I would have cared if he did.

He whispered sweet nothings and Russian sentences in my ear the whole time we were together. The feeling of such reassuring love enveloped me in a warm embrace as that orgasm crept closer once again. I urged Dimitri to pick up his speed a bit, and if his heavy breathing was any indication of his own orgasm growing, then this would be over very soon. I could feel it creeping up on me, tightening low in my stomach and then finally concentrating on my centre.

"Oh," I said as immense pleasure exploded in my body. I convulsed around him as he reached his own ecstasy rush. Dimitri's warm seed flooded into me and my erratic moaning faded as all the nerve endings that had been set on fire eventually cooled. Dimitri came down from his high too and slowly relaxed on top of me. I gladly took all of his weight as he buried his face in my neck. A light sheen of sweat coated our skin, despite the cold breeze flowing through the open balcony doors. I brushed Dimitri's hair away from his sticky forehead and felt his harsh breath against my throat.

We were still conjoined and revelling in the most intimate and romantic moment we had ever experienced. I just knew that it couldn't get any better than this. Dimitri lifted his head and gave me a kiss filled with exhaustion from our activities.

"I love you, Dimitri." I whispered against his forehead.

He left my body with a soft sigh, "I love you, Roza."

...

We were in Greece for two more days after that, spending a majority of the time couped up in my hotel room and making up for the two months of sex we missed. But eventually we had to go home. Eddie, Mia, Viktoria, Adrian and Tasha returned to the Royal Court with us. I was so excited to be home and Dimitri had the rest of the week off before going back to work. My 'maternity' leave also ended soon which meant that I would be starting up at work again and guarding Lissa when she returned next week. We had just stepped into our small apartment when the phone started ringing; neither of us picked it up and instead headed straight to our bedroom.

_Rose, are you home yet? I'm ringing your phone_. Lissa urged excitedly through the bond.

_No_, I lied. _We're on our way home now. Call me later_.

I put up my mental walls as both Dimitri and I collapsed onto the bed. We had a bit of jet lag from the flight and my body was really stiff from sitting in the airplane for so long. When I peered over at Dimitri, I noted that he had started reading his new western novel that we bought at the airport. Whilst on the plane, I had slept on his shoulder and he had read halfway through the damn thing already.

Out of pure curiosity, I asked, "Have you ever had a sexual fantasy that involved cowboys?"

Dimitri was taken off-guard by my question and closed his book, placing it on the bedside table and turning on his side to face me. "Are you seriously asking me this?"

"Yes."

"No, I haven't."

**DPOV**

Is she serious? No, she couldn't be. I mean, just because I read western novels it doesn't mean that cowboys star in my sexual fantasies. "Are you seriously asking me this?"

"Yes," she replied in a level tone.

"No, I haven't," I retorted, hiding a chuckle. Rose shrugged and closed her eyes, I watched her as she relaxed and fell into a peaceful sleep. She smiled in her sleep, I wasn't sure that she was aware of it. It was adorable, really. It was a look of contentment that I rarely ever saw on her face. I didn't realise just how tired I was, until I yawned. Wrapping my arms around Rose, I drifted into oblivion beside her.

*_A week later_*

I had just finished my shift for the day. It was mostly security rounds since Christian, whom was my charge, is in Rome. I knew Rose was already at home because she kept texting me and telling me that she is bored. It was her first day back at work yesterday and got stuck with a bunch of paperwork to file. She hated it and I didn't hear the end of her complaining until I coaxed her into sex on the couch. Her shifts only consisted of about six hours because she is a younger guardian, whereas my shifts go for about eight hours. I leave our apartment as the sun sets and get home two hours before it rises again.

Rose was telling me to hurry up and get home. Apparently 'Finding Nemo' just came on the television and she didn't want me to miss it. I rolled my eyes at how cute she could be sometimes. But before I went home there was one more stop I had to make, the pharmacy. Rose and I had been trying for a baby and I secretly saw the doctor yesterday after my shift and he told me it only takes about a week for a fertile dhampir woman to conceive. Anyway, the whole point of my drug store visit was to buy a bunch of pregnancy tests.

As I walked out of the snow and into the heated store, I asked the person behind the counter to point me in the direction of pregnancy care. She led me to the third aisle and pointed out a few different tests, telling me which ones were more accurate than others. I grabbed five of the most accurate tests and she looked at me in surprise, but scanned them all and gave me my change. "Would you like a bag?"

"Yes please," I murmured.

As I exited the store, the snow had picked up and I quickly jogged back to the apartment, greeted by more central heating. I could feel the snow in my hair melting, making it damp. "Rose," I called.

"In here," she replied from the lounge room. Her mouth sounded like it was full of food. I discarded my snow covered jacket and carried the plastic bag into the living room. Rose was curled up on the couch with a flannel blanket wrapped around her. She looked sad and ate a tub of caramel ice-cream. My alarm bells rung and immediately flanked her side.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

She sobbed, "Why did they have to take Nemo away?"

I immediately relaxed and pulled her into a hug, "I don't know, sweetie. It's just a movie."

"Yeah, you're right." She sniffled and pulled back, catching sight of the plastic bag, "what's that?"

"Pregnancy tests."

Rose brightened up, "I bet you got some weird looks when you bought those."

"Yeah," I chuckled. "Do you want to take it now?"

She shook her head, "Your birthday is coming up in a few days. I'll take one then."

"Okay," I smiled. If Rose was pregnant, it would be the best birthday gift she could ever give me.

"Lissa rang earlier. She said she found the perfect wedding dress for me and is buying it, regardless whether I'll where it or not. She said it is too perfect to not buy," She laughed and wiped away her tears from the movie.

I placed the bag of pregnancy tests on the floor and kicked off my shoes, curling up underneath the blanket beside Rose. "That's great, Roza. You're going to look stunning, I can picture it now."

"Have you figured out who is going to be your best man yet?" she asked.

"Probably an old friend of mine back in Russia."

"What's his name?" Rose played absentmindedly with the hem of my form-fitting shirt.

"Lev Stalin. His English isn't very good, but it's better than nothing."

"That's fine. I think we should get married in Russia. A spring wedding," Rose mused.

I tilted her chin up so that she was looking at me, "Are you sure?"

"You know, comrade, you ask that question a lot. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. Yes, I really want to get married in Russia."

"We have to call my mother and tell her. If we're going to have a shotgun wedding then she needs to make bookings and plans. Then we'll have to send out invites to your family and friends, and my family and friends. Not to mention where we are going to have the reception—"

"Whoa, cowboy. Slow your horses." Rose laughed, "One thing at a time. Let's call your family."


	17. Ibrahim Mazur

"_Whoa, cowboy. Slow your horses." Rose laughed, "One thing at a time. Let's call your family."_

**RPOV**

After Dimitri excitedly punched in his mother's number and put it on loud speaker he spoke in rapid Russian before she could even say 'hello'.

"Dimka," she said in surprise, sounding a little breathless, like she had run to the phone. "Can you repeat that slower, and in English, because I'm sure Rose is there too?"

I giggled, "Hey Olena."

"Hello Rose," Amusement was heavy in her voice.

"Mama, Rose and I have decided that we are going to get married in Russia. We need you to make a few arrangements."

There was silence for a moment, "You're... getting married here? In Baia? Oh that's great news!"

Her thick accent was full of excitement; much like Dimitri's when he spoke. "Do you think you can book a date at the local chapel?"

"Oh, of course. I will call right now."

"Call us with all the details," I piped in.

"Oh yes I will. I will talk to you soon," she said in a rush and hung up, obviously to ring the priest.

I laughed, "Does that kind of overwhelming excitement run in your family?"

"Probably. Rose, if we are getting married in Baia, do you want to have a traditional Russian wedding or an American wedding?" He asked like a kid that just drank ten Redbull energy drinks.

"Well, I've been to my fair share of American weddings, and I always wanted to be a little different to the rest. I think we should have a Russian wedding."

"They work a little differently to American ceremonies, so you may have to study up a bit," Dimitri warned.

"That's okay. You only get married once, might as well make it special."

Dimitri pulled me up off the couch and over to the dining table, where our shared laptop sat. He googled 'Russian weddings' and said, "This might help me explain a bit." He clicked onto the first website that appeared and quickly scanned through. I watched his thoughtful face turn to me and pull me onto his lap. "A Russian wedding starts out by paying a ransom for the bride."

"A ransom?"

"We will not meet up at the altar like Lissa and Christian did. Instead, I will go to your hotel room and pay a ransom to your parents. They will accept it and often end up pulling a practical joke before asking for more money. Eventually, I get you."

I smiled, "That sounds fun."

"We'll go to the church and walk down the aisle together. When we reach the altar and the priest goes through his usual announcements, we say 'I do', share a cup of wine and have our hands tied together with silk, symbolising love, prosperity, happiness and commitment. Then we will sign our registry papers, which will officially change your last name and give you a green card to live in Russia."

"Wow, a free ticket to live in Russia," I laughed.

Dimitri smiled, "You will be able to stay there as long as you want and no longer need a holiday visa. Anyway, after the official ceremony, our friends and family will hand us bread and salt. It symbolises about the same stuff that the silk did."

"Okay so far we've got, ransom for the bride, do all this traditional stuff at the church, bread and salt... what about the reception?" I asked.

He nodded, "After we are finished in the church, we will head to the reception. Usually the guests would already be there because we will go the longest way possible, taking in the sights and getting photos taken. When we arrive at the reception party most of the guests—especially the Russians—would have already started drinking, eating, singing and dancing. Lissa or Lev will make a toast and everyone will then take a shot of vodka and smash their glasses on the ground. It is considered good luck if they break."

"Cool. The idea of smashing things at my own wedding excites me."

"If the guests chant _Gorko,_ it means bitter and often from the vodka. It's custom for the couple to kiss until the bitter taste leaves their mouth." I opened my mouth with a cheeky smile and was about to say something seductive, but Dimitri kept talking. He obviously knew I was going to say something sleazy. "Anyway, a wedding can go for two days and sometimes a week."

"A... a week?" I stuttered, all dirty thoughts leaving my head. That is one hell of a party.

He nodded, "The Russians like to come back for more food and alcohol until there is nothing left."

"Wow, that's amazing." I suddenly changed the subject as I just fleetingly glanced into the lounge room. "Oh my God, we're missing Finding Nemo! It's halfway through the movie."

Dimitri chuckled as I scampered back onto the couch. He came and cuddled underneath the blanket with me again and we watched the rest of the movie. I couldn't help but cry again as I watched it. Dimitri stroked my hair comfortingly and murmured in the Russian that I loved so much.

"I'm so happy that they found each other again," I sobbed, not knowing where all of this is coming from.

Suddenly there was a knock on our door, "Who is it?" Dimitri called. He looked like he didn't want to leave me here alone while I was crying.

"Janine," was the recently familiar voice of my mother.

Dimitri shot me a concerned look and reluctantly got up to answer the door. "It's kind of a bad time," I heard him murmur quietly; in the softest voice I had only ever heard him use with me. More tears sprung to my eyes and I wailed at the beauty that is my fiancée. Said fiancée suddenly entered the room again and scooped me up in his arms.

"What did you do to her?" My mother asked as she walked in, looking shocked.

"I didn't do anything," he defended himself.

"It was so beautiful, and they finally found each other and started a new life together!" I cried. Dimitri tried to shush me and wipe my tears away; he gave me a tender look.

"Roza, are you alright?"

I nodded and sniffled, finally gaining control. "Hey Mum. What brings you here?"

"I just came to tell you that your father has arrived at court and wishes to meet you tomorrow, but I can tell him that maybe it's not such a good idea." Concern swam in her brown orbs.

"No, it's okay. We just watched a sad movie, that's all." I sniffled.

Dimitri frowned, "It was Finding Nemo, baby. My nephew didn't even cry during that movie."

More tears flooded into my eyes and I could feel my bottom lip quiver, "But he's a boy! Boys don't cry at things like this, well... except for Eddie. He cried like a baby during The Little Mermaid."

He chuckled, but when he saw that I was about to burst into tears again, he apologised. "I think I should go." My mother said awkwardly.

I barely noticed that she said a word as I continued my rant at Dimitri, "How could you not cry when Nemo was taken away from his dad? That was heartbreaking."

"Sweetie, I wasn't here when that part happened. I was at the chemist, remember?"

"Oh yeah... but still!" I insisted before stomping into our bedroom and burying myself beneath the covers.

In the other room I heard Dimitri apologising to my mum and the sound of her leaving. It was silent—except for my sobbing—for a few moments, and then the weight of the bed shifted behind me and Dimitri wrapped me up in his arms. "It wasn't the movie, was it?"

I knew he was referencing to the reason I was crying so much. I shook my head, "No, it wasn't."

"Do you want to tell me what is really going on?" His voice was so soothing and gentle, not the least bit judging.

"I don't know, Dimitri. When you were still at work, I was fine. And then that stupid movie came on and I started to feel sad. Then we made some wedding plans which cheered me up again and then we watched the rest of the movie and my mood went down again. And for the whole freaking day I have wanted a fucking cheeseburger, but _nobody_ sells them!"

He sighed, "You're having mood swings and cravings. You must be pregnant. I couldn't think of any other reason you would behave like this. It's worse than the last time."

"I'm sorry that I'm being such a bitch. Maybe I just need some sleep or something," I sniffled and rolled over to face him. He immediately wiped the wet trails from my cheeks and kissed my nose. "I don't deserve you."

His eyes widened, "Why the hell would you think that, Rose? You deserve everything, and more."

"No, I don't. I'm a horrible person."

"No, don't talk like that," he said stubbornly. "You are not a horrible person. You are beautiful and caring, loving, funny, stubborn, cheeky, and seductive, a smartass, and a great guardian. All of those things make you a perfect Rose."

I sighed with a shaky breath and smiled. Dimitri hugged me close and we lay there for hours, sharing kisses and sweet words. We each ate buttered toast for dinner and then went to bed.

...

Meeting my father for the first time was delayed because of my little hormonal breakdown the other day, which meant that it was finally Dimitri's birthday. Not only would we find out if I am pregnant, but Lissa returns home too. Last night I had set the alarm on Dimitri's phone to silent and placed it underneath my pillow, the vibrating beneath my head woke me up rudely. I almost groaned and went back to sleep before remembering why I had set the alarm in the first place. I shut off the alarm before the buzzing noise woke Dimitri. He seemed to be in a deep sleep on the opposite side of our bed.

Careful not to stir the covers too much, I slipped out of bed and tip-toed to the kitchen. It was time to put my limited culinary skills to the test and make him breakfast in bed. After burning four sets of toast and boiling the kettle to make a coffee, I finally managed to cook two perfect slices. I poured the hot water into the coffee mug and then buttered the toast while it was still hot so that the butter would melt. I pulled out one of our breakfast trays that we bought recently on an appliance shopping trip and loaded up a plate of buttered toast, Dimitri's birthday card and his cup of coffee.

I was cautious as I carried the tray back to our bedroom, not wanting to spill hot coffee on myself. Dimitri was still in the same position as before, but stirred when he smelt breakfast. I sat the tray on his bedside table and coaxed him awake gently.

He was disoriented and squinted up at me, "Hey. What are you doing up so early?"

His normally strong and accented voice was thick with sleep and a little on the croaky side. "I made you breakfast in bed," I climbed onto the bed beside him and placed the tray in his lap as he sat up. "Happy birthday."

Dimitri rubbed the sleep from his eyes and thanked me before digging in. "Are you not having any?" He offered.

"No, that's okay. I don't feel very well this morning."

"Did you... take a pregnancy test yet?"

"No, I completely forgot about that," I admitted sheepishly. "I'll take it when you finish eating."

Dimitri practically shoved the toast down his throat, two pieces at a time and skulled his coffee, he didn't even flinch from the scalding liquid. He leant over the now empty tray and gave me a good morning kiss. I smiled against his lips and then pressed his birthday card into his palm. He ripped open the envelope and read the stuff I wrote inside, laughing at times. It pretty much just said that he was getting really old and that I shouldn't be dating someone so ancient because it's creepy. At the bottom I had signed it, '_don't grow too old just yet, I still haven't beat you in Grand Theft Auto. I love you, Rose xo_.'

He chuckled and placed the card upright on the bedside table. "Come on," he moved the tray from his lap and pulled me up off of the bed. Our central heating had recently stopped working and no one had come to fix it yet, which meant that it was freezing cold in our apartment. "Go take a test, or two." Dimitri murmured as he pulled me into our bathroom and grabbed two tests from the cabinet.

"Two's a crowd, three's a party," I mumbled, grabbing a third. Dimitri smiled and opened up the first one, pulling a stick out of the rectangular box and then read out the instructions on the back.

"Pee on the stick... wait three minutes and the results will either say pregnant or not pregnant."

"I know, comrade. This isn't exactly my first test," I laughed and took the stick from him. I expected him to leave and give me my privacy, but he didn't budge. I pulled down my pyjama pants and sat on the cold toilet seat, shivering slightly and then peering at Dimitri.

"What?" He said when I kept looking at him.

"I can't pee with you watching me."

He turned on the tap and closed the door, "How about now?" I shrugged and continued to look at him. Dimitri turned around and said, "Better?"

"Sort of," I mumbled and realised it was the best I was going to get and let my bladder's contents spill onto the three different tests.

"Are you done yet?" Dimitri asked, playing with his fingers.

"These things take time... okay, I'm done now." I cleaned myself up, got dressed and then flushed the toilet. Dimitri turned around and looked at the three used tests that sat on the bathroom counter. I had placed the lids over the ends I peed on, so that no one had to touch that part. We impatiently waited the three minutes. Dimitri paced in the small bathroom, glancing at the tests ever few seconds. I knew he was excited, but also a little aggravated at the long wait.

I leant back against the counter and then noticed that the first test was complete; I picked it up and gasped. Dimitri spun and looked at me, "What?"

"I'm pregnant," I whispered so low I could barely hear it myself.

"What?" He repeated, straining his ears.

"I'm pregnant!" I shouted in excitement, "I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant!"

Fifty different emotions flittered across Dimitri's face in the space of a millisecond before he picked me up and spun me around in his arms. "We're having a baby," he exclaimed with joy, placing me down again and lifted my shirt to look at my stomach. "Oh my god... We're going to be parents, Roza. I love you so, so much." He kissed my lips roughly, over and over again out of excitement and I was sure that they would be bruised later. But right now I couldn't care any less.

"We have to... We have to tell someone!" I exclaimed quickly.

"Lissa?" He asked, "Or maybe my family... or perhaps your mother..."

"My mum. She deserves to know first this time." I was dead set on making things right between us. We may never have the perfect mother-daughter relationship, but that won't be because of lack of trying.

"You're right," Dimitri said. "Come on."

"Wait, comrade. I think you're forgetting something."

"What?" he asked in confusion.

I grabbed the pregnancy test and smiled, "We need to get dressed, unless you'd like my mother to see you in all your glory."

Dimitri looked down and seemed to notice that he was only wearing a pair of satin boxers. "Right, I got caught up in the moment."

...

Thirty minutes later we each stood outside my mother's guest housing room, fists raised in excited knocking. Dimitri didn't let me out of his sight since we took the test and he helped me skilfully dodge some ice patches on the pathways. My mother answered her door, wearing a guardian uniform and looking exhausted but fully alert.

"Rose," she said in surprise. "What are you doing here so early in the morning? I thought you slept in."

"Well I do, but it is Dimitri's birthday... anyway, that's not why we're here."

"Happy birthday," my mother said dismissively to Dimitri and then turned back to me, "What's going on?"

"Can we come in?" I asked.

She turned thoughtful and then blurted out, "Your father is here. He was visiting to set a new day to meet you."

Dimitri and I exchanged glances and then he spoke. "I think its best that Rose's father hears this too."

"Okay, well come in." She stepped aside and ushered us in before closing the door. Apparently her central heating was just dandy in comparison to ours and we shed our jackets. The guest housing wasn't all that much different to the time I had visited court with Lissa whilst we were still in school. It was posh and expensive looking, but not nearly as good as the Moroi guest housing.

In the middle of the sitting room stood a tall Moroi man. He had black hair and a goatee, and about as tan a complexion as Moroi ever had. He wore a long dark coat that screamed money, paired with a cashmere crimson scarf. Below it, I could see a bit of gold, a chain to match the gold hoop earring he wore in one of his ears.

"Rose this is your father, Ibrahim Mazur."


	18. The Perfect Suit

**Okay, so I took a little longer to update this time. But I have been working on a new fanfic called Blood Bond. It's full of action, love and lust.**

**So far, I've written over 20 pages for it and it may take a while to finish before I start uploading onto fan fic.**

**But anyway, This chapter has a bit of humour between Abe, Rose and Dimitri and then she will try on her wedding dress while DImitri gets the perfect suit. Both pics are on profile.**

**Hope you review and enjoy :)**

* * *

"_Rose this is your father, Ibrahim Mazur."_

The only thought I could conjure inside my head was, _how the hell did my mother get involved with someone like that? _It baffled me really. He looked like the kind of man to break kneecaps or own prostitutes that roam the city streets looking for late night hook ups. And at some point I even considered that he could be a pirate, but quickly dismissed that idea. His tall and slim build was slightly intimidating; Ibrahim almost towered over Dimitri. The air around him seemed controlling and dangerous, obviously he was the type of person to get their own way a lot, and if not then there is hell to pay. Hmm, that sounded a lot like me.

"I've heard a lot about you, Rose."

"Yeah? Well I haven't heard too much about you."

He laughed and turned to Dimitri. "It's good to see you again, Dimitri. You've grown so much since the last time I saw you. I trust your family is doing well."

My mouth almost hit the floor. Dimitri knew my father... before I did. I was a little hurt by this revelation and frowned, stepping away from him and towards my mother more. His eyes followed me with an unfathomable expression in them. "They are fine," he answered.

"How have you been? Busy, I suspect," The Moroi kept talking. I thought he was supposed to be asking me these sought of questions, but it seems that he was more interested in my fiancée. All of a sudden, I didn't really care if I knew my father well or not. We've met each other, but that doesn't mean I want to start a relationship with him.

"Yes, very." Dimitri murmured, reluctantly peeling his eyes away from mine, "I've been planning my wedding."

"You're engaged?" The man said in surprise.

"Abe," my mother interrupted. "Rose and Dimitri had something important that they came to tell me. So if you don't mind..." That was her polite way of saying '_shutup before I punch you in the face_.' Abe nodded and Dimitri moved over to me again but I recoiled from his touch.

"I'm pregnant," I told my mum quietly. Shock covered her features and I laughed, "You look so surprised. I told you that we were going to try for another baby."

"Yes," she agreed awkwardly. "But I didn't expect it to be so soon."

I shrugged and looked up at Dimitri. All my earlier excitement from my pregnancy started to resurface, but I was still a little upset that Dimitri didn't tell me that he knew my father. He looked hurt that I had recoiled from his arms earlier, so I walked over and gave him a hug, whispering in his ear, "We'll talk about this later."

"No," He whispered back. "We'll talk about this right now, I swear Roza I had no idea he was your father."

I pulled back and looked into his eyes, only finding his sincerity, "I believe you."

He looked relieved, "Should we tell him?"

I looked over to where my parents were having a hushed conversation of angry whispers. "I may not like him so far, but he is my father. I guess he'll find out that we're getting married sooner or later."

Dimitri nodded and we sat down on the couch whilst my parents sat opposite us. "I know that I am eighteen years too late to tell you what you can and can't do. Not that I really care what you do anyway," Abe winked and my mother elbowed him. "But I feel like I have the obligation to make the man who knocked you up disappear and never return."

I almost burst out laughing at the expression on Dimitri's face. "Actually, the father and I have talked about it and decided that we will raise this baby together."

Abe looked surprised, "Most Moroi don't stick around."

"Who said he was Moroi?" I retorted. Obviously, my mother hadn't told him the whole Dimitri-is-the-father-because-of-Rose's-messed-up-senses thing.

"So... you're with a dhampir and having another man's kid?" Abe was clearly confused.

"Nope."

None of us offered an explanation, not that he really deserved it, but I knew that not knowing was eating away at him. "Well, since you—" Abe suddenly stopped talking as his eyes drifted to the ring on my finger. His dark eyes then flickered to Dimitri. "Hm, you never did tell me who exactly you were marrying."

Dimitri studied Abe, obviously trying to figure out if he would call a bunch of hit men to assassinate him. "She's beautiful. We met about a year ago and have been together ever since. We've been through so much and I will be destroyed if something ever happened to her." My mother and I exchanged smiles. I think that right now is when she saw just how much we loved each other. Abe on the other hand looked irritated. He wanted a direct answer, not a description. But Dimitri wasn't finished. He leant back on the couch and rested his arm behind my shoulders. His fingers twisted a strand of my hair. "She has quite a way with words and always knows when I'm lying to someone. I'm her open book and she is mine."

"Well it sounds like you've found quite a woman. Where is she from?" I think Abe had a pretty good idea that it was me that Dimitri was talking about, but he wanted to see this game through to the end.

"She's American," My lover's eyes never left mine and he smiled at me.

Abe's eyes turned cheeky with amusement, "Is she good in bed?"

"Abe!" My mother exclaimed in outrage at the same time I groaned.

"I kid, I kid," He scoffed at us, rolling his eyes. "I know that it's Rose."

"Definitely related," Dimitri murmured to me.

I laughed, "Yeah. Well," I abruptly stood up, "We got to go. Things to do, people to see."

"Really?" My Mum had a sliver of disappointment in her voice. I don't think she wanted me to go just yet.

"Lissa gets home in," I looked at Dimitri's watch, "Well she's probably waiting at our apartment right now. She has my wedding dress..." I hesitated for a moment when my Mum's face fell ever so slightly. "Would you like to come? I mean, to see the dress. It's supposed to be tradition for the Mother to see it, I think."

Her face lit up with a small smile, "I'd love to."

Dimitri gave me a reassuring smile of pride. He was happy that I was making an effort to have a good relationship with her. Abe walked out of guest housing with us and then split off with two guardians. They were rather scary-looking and definitely intimidating. When we made it to our apartment, my assumptions of Lissa waiting had been correct.

"Rose," she squealed in excitement before hugging me as close as her pregnant stomach would allow.

"God," I groaned, "Let a girl breathe, would you Liss?"

"Oh sorry, I just missed you so much!"

"I missed you too."

She then saw Dimitri and pulled him into a friendly hug and then my Mum, whom I think was very surprised and felt awkward. "It's so good to be home," she said, smiling vibrantly at us all. Lissa definitely had that pregnancy glow about her.

This reminded me... "Lissa, promise me you won't scream."

"Why would I scream?" Her green eyes shifted in confusion.

"I'm pregnant."

Another excited squeal left her mouth and she pulled both me and Dimitri into a group hug. We both winced as she continued to scream in our ears. Dimitri groaned and then she stopped. "Oh my God, this is so great. I'm so happy for you both! Congratulations."

"Thanks, Liss."

She pulled back, still grinning. "Want to see your dress?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Dimitri has to leave. He can go and visit Christian or something, but he can't stay."

He nodded and gave me a quick kiss before passing me his phone. "You keep this, my mother is supposed to be ringing with confirmation about our wedding date."

"Okay," I gave him one last kiss, not wanting him to leave. He touched my stomach before walking to the door, bidding everyone goodbye.

"You have to catch me up on these wedding plans," Lissa said, in full bridesmaid mode. Her hands were on her hips.

"Let's go take a seat."

...

"Oh Rose, it's beautiful."

Lissa started to tear up and sniffle. I had slipped on the wedding dress and now stood in front of a full body mirror. She was right, it is beautiful. It was an ivory silk chiffon Roman style gown. It was layered and tight around the bust. The train was tiny and the dress flowed down my body to the floor. It was a little long, but I would be wearing heels so it didn't matter. It hid all the right parts of my stomach and highlighted all the right parts of my chest. It had a sweetheart neckline, but a small piece of material underneath since the material was slightly transparent. My mother watched in awe and even got a little emotional. **[pic of dress on profile]**

"I never thought I would see the day that my daughter tried on her wedding dress." She sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye.

I smiled, "Thank you Mum."

"Do you like it?" Lissa asked hopefully.

"I love it! I couldn't have done better myself."

I lifted it up a bit so that I wouldn't trip on the hem and walked over to the couch. Dimitri's phone started to ring and caller ID told me it was Olena.

"Hello."

"Oh Rose, it's good to hear from you. I have the booking for the chapel all sorted, is Dimka around?"

"No, he's out at the moment; I'm trying on my wedding dress."

"Oh really? I bet you look stunningly beautiful. Dimka is one lucky man to have found you."

I smiled fondly, "Thank you Olena."

"Now, I better update you on what's happening. Dimka told me that you are having a shotgun traditional Russian wedding. I have booked the chapel for January the 11th, is this okay?"

"That's perfect, thank you."

"Oh good, now, you also need to book a reception place. It needs to be done early because weddings in Russia are booked well in advance," she explained.

"Alright, we'll look for something tonight and then call you. Oh and there is something I need to ask you. Did Dimitri tell you why it's such a quick wedding?" I asked.

"He said something about kids, oh I was just so busy when we spoke that I was hardly listening."

"Well, we've been trying for another baby and... I'm pregnant."

There was a sound of excitement on the other end of the phone and then shouting. Suddenly, Karolina and Sonya were there asking questions all at the same time. I laughed. "Sorry about that, Rose. They're just so excited. We've always wanted Dimka to be a father. You have made us very happy, dear."

"Thank you, Olena. Well I better go. I'll talk to you later?"

"Of course, goodbye Rose."

She hung up and I place Dimitri's phone on the coffee table. Lissa was smiling at me and my mother was flicking through a wedding magazine. Finding the perfect wedding dress was only the start of this planning. We still need a cake, invitations, a reception place, a photographer, bridesmaid dresses and accessories and Dimitri needs to find a tux. I let out a breath. Weddings were so damn difficult.

**DPOV**

I arrived at Lissa and Christian's apartment after the women kicked me out. It was rather surprising to see Adrian and Eddie here, as well as Viktoria. They all greeted me and I gave my sister a hug. "Where's Rose?" She asked.

"Trying on her wedding dress."

All the guys looked up from what looked like a game of poker and Christian spoke up. "That reminds me. Lissa organised for us to take you to get our suits."

I sighed, not really in the mood but glad to just get it out of the way. "Okay."

We all headed down to the tailor and split up. Vika stayed with me so that she could help me out. I was never very good with these kinds of things and I want it to be perfect. She looked over a few racks while I just followed her. After pointing out a few things, and me denying it, she found the perfect suit.

"Oh my gosh... Dimka it's perfect."

The suit was on display. It had a typical white dress shirt and black dress pants, a black tuxedo jacket and a white vest with a black tie. It also seemed to come with black Italian leather dress shoes and a white gold watch. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw the price.

"Vika, I can't afford—"

"Lissa is paying for it," Christian said as he walked up beside me and let out a low whistle at the suit.

"I won't let her," I protested.

"She said that it's only fair since she bought Rose's dress, which definitely wasn't cheap. The bloody Romans try to rip you off just cause you're from another country, you know."

I chuckled and reluctantly agreed to Lissa buying the suit. Viktoria told me to go try it on, watch and all. I had to admit, it was perfect. I came out of the dressing room and Viktoria smiled, "She'll love it."

"Do you think so?" I said, unsure.

"Of course. Stop being so nervous, it's unusual for you. Your wedding day will be perfect no matter what you wear."

"Thanks Vika. Where are the others?"

"Trying on their suits. Go wait at the checkout while I make sure they didn't end up goofing off at the dress up section. I'm sure at least one of them found the gorilla suit that I tried to hide under a pile of clothes."

I laughed and nodded, "Alright."


	19. Noodles

_I laughed and nodded, "Alright."_

**RPOV**

After I walked my mum back to her room, we parted ways and I eagerly started to trek back home. Hopefully Dimitri would be there. It was still his birthday and I felt bad for not spending it with him. The snow had picked up since this morning and a harsh wind whipped hair against my face. Christmas was next week, which meant that we were almost in the middle of winter. Terrible storms were predicted for Pennsylvania, and I'm pretty sure that this heavy snowfall was the start of one.

As I walked along the footpath, I tried not to slip on icy puddles. After successfully dodging three, I noticed in the distance a loud yelp. It sounded like some kind of animal. Immediately, I surveyed my surroundings and saw four Moroi boys were hacking into something with a baseball bat. With a frown, I jogged over and was instantly sickened by the horror of what I saw.

"Hey!" The venom in my voice stopped the boys immediately. They all turned to look at me, dropped the bat and ran away as fast as they could. I would have chased them down and beat them myself, but the small battered bundle of puppy fur stopped me in my tracks. The poor little dog was whimpering in pain and its dark caramel coloured fur was stained brown with tears. "Oh, you poor thing."

I discarded my jacket and brushed the snow from its cold face. Careful of its injuries, I wrapped it up in a ball and held it tightly to my chest. Luckily for me, a small vet clinic was a short walk away. The puppy whimpered in my arms as I moved into a brisk jog.

My teeth started to chatter as the wind picked up and quickly welcomed the heating inside the clinic. "Oh my," an elderly Moroi exclaimed from behind a reception desk.

"Please hurry, it's been beaten by some kids," I urged.

She disappeared to get the vet that was on shift and I looked down to make sure the puppy was okay. Blood matted some of its fur, which indicated cuts and possibly bruises. Its leg was also twisted in an unnatural way. The puppy stared up at me with chocolate brown eyes, filled with weeping tears.

"Quickly, quickly," A vet said as he ushered me into an examination room. I placed the dog down on the bench while the Moroi man logged in to his computer, opening a new file. "What happened?" He asked.

"I was walking home and found some boys beating it with a baseball bat. I chased them off and brought the puppy straight here," I explained.

"Oh dear," he muttered with a voice full of compassion. He took out a stethoscope and recorded the dog's heartbeat before gently feeling over the puppy's body. It yelped when he hit a few tender spots. "He could have possible internal damage, so we'll need to do an x-ray. By the looks of things, his leg is definitely broken and will need stitching. We'll prep him for surgery right now. Please go wait in the waiting room."

I nodded reluctantly and watched as he carried the puppy out of the room. My jacket was stained with blood, but that was the least of my problems. I felt that it was my obligation to stay and wait for this puppy. Dimitri wouldn't be happy with my internal decision, but nothing can change my mind. I will adopt him.

**DPOV**

After we finished up paying for the suits, Vika had wished me happy birthday on behalf of our whole family and then gave me a present. I couldn't help but laugh as I opened it up. Another western novel. Rose will be thrilled.

Speaking of whom—when I finally arrived home—our apartment was empty. I frowned, but decided that maybe she had just gone out with Lissa or her mother. It was dinner time, and it was definitely unusual for Rose to be missing at this time of night. She would normally be sitting on the kitchen bench and asking me random questions about food whilst I cooked. The thought made me smile. I grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down to start reading my new novel. If Rose wasn't home in half an hour, then I would start to worry. The plot of my novel was pretty much the same as all the others I read, which was secretly why I read them. I liked to imagine myself as the hero and Rose as the damsel in distress, but I'm not too sure that she would like that idea very much.

After fifteen minutes of reading, I could no longer focus on the book. My eyes kept drifting to the door and then the window. A crease of worry formed on my brow as I saw the storm quickly forming outside. Where is she? Surely she would be home by now. I internally tried to calm myself down and decided that now would be the best time to ring Lev.

I hadn't asked him if he wanted to be my best man yet. His number was forever burned into my memory and it only took three rings before he picked up.

"Privet?" He answered in Russian. His voice was just as rough and husky as I remembered.

"Lev? It's Dimitri."

"Dimka!" He exclaimed, accent much thicker than mine. "Long time, no speak, eh?"

Lev's English was quite broken up and not very good, so I switched to Russian. "Yes, listen. You know that after Ivan died I got reassigned, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I met someone... a woman."

There was a sleazy chuckle on the other end of the line, "Oh yeah? Tell me _all_ about it."

I rolled my eyes, "She's not what you think she is. I don't have friends with benefits and one-night stands like you do."

Lev seemed to sober up a bit. "I know, Dimka. So, what's she like? She must be pretty damn important if you're telling me about her. Everyone in Baia knows that Dimka don't tell his friends anything." He joked, even though that was kind of true. I hadn't exactly kept in touch.

"Her name is Rose. We're getting married."

There was the sound of choking on the other end of the line and then Lev's croaking voice. "You? Getting married? Ha!"

"I'm serious, Lev. The reason I'm calling is because... I want you to be my best man."

"Are you sure?" He had recovered again. That was the best thing about Lev. One moment he could joke around at your expense and then become a serious friend. It's what made him such a great guardian. "I know that after Ivan died, you kind of wanted nothing to do with anyone in Russia. You don't have to ask me this to try and make some kind of truce between us. I'll always be your friend."

"I know that and I'm asking you because it just doesn't seem right to ask Rose's friends. We grew up together. Ivan, you and me were like... brothers, I guess. It would mean a lot to both me and Rose if you accepted."

"Well of course I accept! You know that no one in Russia turns down a good party, especially one that could go on for a week." And there goes his seriousness again.

I laughed. "Thank you, Lev."

"So, tell me about this woman. You must really love her if you proposed."

And so I did. We spoke for two hours. I told him everything he had missed since I had moved to America. By the time I hung up, he was up to date on Rose's pregnancy and our whole relationship, and how it had started out. He sent me a few crude jokes when I told him how I used to be her mentor. The sun was starting to rise outside the window and the snow storm was in full force. My earlier worry came back. Where the hell is Rose?

The wind made an eerie howling noise outside and I could see the trees swaying. I got up and paced restlessly in the apartment. Just as I picked up the phone and started to dial Lissa's number, the front door opened.

"Oh, Roza." I said, relief washing over me completely. All my worry and anxiety was gone. "Where have you been? I've been worried sick."

She was shivering and her jacket was bundled up in her arms. I frowned in confusion and walked over to her, coming to a halt when I saw the reason why. "Don't get mad." She whispered quietly, "I was coming home from my Mum's... and I saw these boys beating him with a baseball bat. I couldn't just leave him there, comrade. So I took him to the vet and they operated on him. He had a broken leg and needed stitches. I'm sorry that I worried you, I should have called or something."

Rose looked so upset the whole time she spoke. It was then that I realised she couldn't let this puppy go, not after what she had witnessed being done to it. She probably feels that it's her responsibility to nurse it back to health. "Rose, I don't think we can keep a dog."

"Please," she begged, looking up into my eyes. The love and motherly instincts for this puppy were written all over her face. I could feel myself caving.

"Fine," I sighed.

Relief showed on Rose's face. "Thank you."

I walked closer and peeked inside the makeshift blanket. The puppy had caramel fur and looked vaguely like a poodle crossbred with a pug. "What kind is it?"

"The vet said that he's a mongrel. Noodles has four different kinds of dog breeds in him. Pug, Tibetan spaniel, poodle and jack russell."

"You named him Noodles?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sure, why not? I like noodles." She smiled up at me and I couldn't help but laugh. Rose and her food.

"Rose, next time you see a poor puppy half-dead on a footpath, please remember to call me. I was seconds away from going insane." I then noticed that she was shivering. "Come on, we'll make Noodles a bed and then you can go take a warm shower. Stress isn't good for the baby."

She nodded and allowed me to lead her into our bedroom. I found a cardboard box and placed a spare pillow inside so the puppy will be comfortable. Rose gently placed him inside and I couldn't help but notice her gentle side come out. It was her motherly instincts showing again. She would be great once our child is born. I grabbed a blanket and tucked it around the sleeping dog.

"The vet gave him something to make him sleep for the surgery. He might be out for a while and when he wakes up, we have to give him these pain pills." She pulled a small box out of her jeans pocket and placed it beside Noodles' bed.

"Alright, come on. Let's warm you up."

We headed into the bathroom and I decided to run her a bubble bath. She deserved to relax after a stressful day. I helped her strip out of her clothes and step into the hot water so that she wouldn't slip. Steam rose from the bubbly water and a majority of her skin was hidden from view.

"Care to join?" She smiled and sat forward a bit.

"I don't know."

"Oh come on. It's still your birthday," she taunted, trailing her wet fingers down my bare arm. Goosebumps rose and I shivered.

"Mm," I moaned, closing my eyes. After a silent moment, I undressed and climbed into the water behind her. She rested between my legs and laid back whilst I gently massaged her shoulders. Her eyes were closed and I silently hoped that she wouldn't fall asleep. It would be awkward trying to lift her from the tub without falling over. I may be strong, but that is definitely out of my league. "I bought a suit today," I mumbled absentmindedly as I focused more on her soft skin.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Did you like your dress?"

"It's perfect."

"I'm glad," I sighed in pure bliss. We hardly ever got romantic moments like these.

"What weddings colours do you think we should have?"

"Uh," I was a little distracted with the feel of her body against mine. "I don't think we should have really bright colours, and definitely no pink."

She laughed. "I have to agree with you there. Pink is more Lissa's colour. I was thinking of a crimson red. It's not too bright and will match my bouquet. I'm having roses." I heard a smile in her voice.

I placed a kiss on her neck. "I like red."

"Thought you might," Rose turned her head and pressed a soft kiss on my lips. I stopped massaging her shoulders and hugged her around her stomach. Her back was pressed flush against my body. She leant her head back against my shoulder as I rubbed circles on her flat tummy.

"I rang Lev earlier. He agreed to be my best man. He's excited to meet you; the both of you will get along great. You're much alike."

Rose scooped up some bubbles in her hand and played with them. "Cool, can't wait. We can exchange embarrassing stories about you. Hell, Vika might even join in and we can write a manifesto."

"Whatever," I grumbled playfully.

She laughed and blew bubbles at me. "Happy birthday, Dimitri."

"You already wished me a happy birthday."

"I know, but I just feel like I should have spent the day with you more. And since you made me promise not to buy you a present, I feel like I should be making it up to you," guilt laced her husky voice.

"You already gave me the best gift a man could receive." I gently patted her stomach to prove my point.

She sighed, "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I love you."

"Mm, I love you too."

We were silent after that. Neither of us spoke as we finished washing up and then stepped out of the tub. Rose shivered as she stood, wrapped only in a towel. We hadn't brought clothes in with us and the central heating was still broken. I unplugged the bath drain and we listened to it gurgle as the water was sucked away. A loud whimper drifted from our bedroom.

"Oh, puppy." Rose said, before pulling me down the hall. She knelt down beside the box where Noodles had woken up and yelped in pain. I grabbed the pain killers and handed her one. She ever so gently placed it in his mouth and held it shut until he swallowed. After spitting it out a few times and Rose shoving it back in, Noodles finally consumed the pill. The blanket Rose had wrapped around him was covering his leg cast and stitched up wounds from the icy cold, but our towels were doing little at keeping us warm.

I helped Rose get dressed into two layers of warm clothing before getting myself dressed. We quickly fixed ourselves bowls of cereal for dinner and fed Noodles some ham from inside the fridge. Once the new addition to our small family was sound asleep and snoring softly, Rose and I cuddled up in our warm bed.

"No sex?" she pouted.

I laughed. "It seems strange to be together when there is an animal snoring in our bedroom. Besides, Noodles could see something that will scar him for life."

Rose scoffed, "yeah right. We don't do anything that kinky anyway."

I raised an eyebrow as she smiled innocently at me. "Sorry Roza, no birthday sex tonight."

"I think it should be _me_ telling _you_ that we're not having sex. I mean, aren't guys always the ones who pressure women?"

"Usually. I just want to hold you and our unborn child for once, is that so bad?" I asked.

"No," Rose smiled and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight milaya moya."

* * *

**Milaya Moya-My sweet**

**So, how was it? Please don't forget to review. I was a little disappointed with the number of reviews I got for the last chapter. I think it was only eight or something... :/**

**I need to know if you're still interested in my story, because if you're not then what's the point in writing? I may just have to delete it.**

**I don't want to do that, but I'm not going to waste my time writing when I could be doing more important things, like homework.**

**So please, please review. It means a lot to me.**


	20. Christmas Surprises

**Okay, okay. I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in almost two months, but something important came up.**

**My mum got sent to hospital and she has been in there for the past few weeks.**

**And my exam block is this week, so I've been finishing assignment, arguing with teachers and studying.**

**I want to be a doctor, so it's important that I get good grades in yr 9, then I can go into the subjects I want in yr 10.**

**Thank you for being so supportive of my story. I didn't realise how many people actually read it and enjoy it. Probably because none of you review.**

**But last chapter I got a load of reviews, so I can't complain :)**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter, nothing interesting, just some moments between Rose, Dimitri & Noodles.**

* * *

"_Goodnight milaya moya."_

**RPOV**

Dimitri and I both woke up during the middle of the night. A loud thump outside our apartment block had practically shaken the walls and windows. "What the fuck was that?" I breathed. The loud noise had woken up Noodles and he was now whimpering in pain and fear. Dogs didn't like storms.

"You get Noodles, I'll check it out," Dimitri mumbled as he got up. The sun would have risen by now, but the snow storm was still in full swing which made everything seem darker than it should be. I scooped our shivering puppy into my arms and pet him, careful of his injuries. Dimitri went over to the window and peeled the curtain back. He swore in Russian which scared me a little. I hope it wasn't anything serious. "The storm knocked over a tree," he explained.

I relaxed a bit. "Which one is it?"

"Do you remember the old oak tree?" he asked sheepishly.

I gasped. "It must be one hell of a storm if it tipped that over. Can you hold Noodles? I need to pee."

Dimitri awkwardly took our puppy from my arms and watched as I walked down the hall and into the bathroom. I sighed in release as my bladders contents were emptied. My stomach was churning in an unsettling way. It was obviously morning sickness, but I didn't feel sick enough to vomit just yet. I flushed the toilet and splashed my face with cold water, hoping that it would wash away the sickness.

"Rose?" Dimitri asked in worry from the door, still holding our little puppy. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just morning sickness."

"Are you going to throw up?"

"I don't think so. It's not that bad."

I turned around and gave him a comforting smile. "Well, okay," he said reluctantly but still concerned. "I think Noodles needs to go to the toilet."

"Sit him in the bathtub. We should go out and buy a kitty litter box later on for him."

Dimitri winkled up his nose, obviously not wanting him to pee in the bath, but we had no other choice. He gently set Noodles down and supported him so no pressure was put on his broken leg. That poor dog must have been just bursting to go. The smell reached my nose and I instantly spun around and vomited in the toilet. Dimitri grunted, obviously feeling frustrated that he couldn't help me out whilst he was holding Noodles. I felt one of his hands rub up and down my back whilst I continued to throw up last night's dinner. Froot Loops don't taste as good the second time around.

Noodles must have finished up because the smell disappeared and I heard the bath tap running, obviously to wash away his mess. Now the only smell that plagued us was my stomach's contents. Dimitri's arms wrapped around my stomach and I leant back on him. I grabbed some toilet paper and wiped my mouth before flushing it down the toilet. A cold sweat had broken out on my skin.

"Are you alright now?"

"I feel much better. Where's Noodles?"

Something wet nudged my arm and I looked down to see our puppy stretched out on his stomach, tongue hanging out of his mouth and panting happily at me. Normally animals would do anything to avoid dhampirs, but I think Noodles realised that I saved his life last night, and was willing to warm up to Dimitri too. I smiled and gently stroked his head.

"Rose, I think you should go back to bed. Rest is important."

"I'm not tired," I whispered.

He sighed, "No, but you will be in six hours when it catches up with you."

"I don't care."

"Rose," he said sternly.

"Dimitri," I mocked.

He turned silent and I knew he was irritated. Water stung my eyes and I couldn't help but burst into tears. Dimitri tightened his hold on me and looked down in astonishment. "Roza, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," I blubbered, "I made you angry."

"Hey," He said softly, "It's okay, calm down. You didn't make me angry."

"But, I should just listen to you. I don't like fighting."

"We're not fighting," He tilted my chin up and wiped away my tears. "I don't want you to feel like you should obey me all the time. I'm not your parent."

"That would be creepy," I sniffled, which was a success in making him laugh.

"Very," He agreed. "Now, how about we put up our Christmas tree?"

I immediately brightened up. Christmas was a week away; I can't believe we hadn't done it at the start of the month. "Okay," I jumped up and grabbed Noodles, but Dimitri stopped me before I could leave the bathroom. He pulled me into a deep and passionate kiss.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

I nodded and tugged him into our lounge room. We didn't use a real tree, because it was such a hassle to find one, cut it down and drag it back to our house. Instead, we just put up a fake one. It was green, obviously, and was held up on a plastic stand. The tree was quite large once we had fully erected it, almost Dimitri's height. We spread the branches and then fetched a box with some decorations in it. All of it was brand new, considering that we've never had to decorate for Christmas before. "When did you buy all this stuff?" I asked in amazement.

"I have to do _something_ when you're at work and I'm not," Dimitri smiled.

Each of us unpacked the tinsel, fairy lights and ornaments. I gave Noodles an ornaments box and let him tear it open. Now the whole family was helping out. We put the fairy lights on first. Dimitri stood on one side of the tree and me on the other as we wound the lights around its girth. He took over once I could no longer reach the top tree branches. Next was tinsel. Dimitri had bought red, gold and silver. I threw some at Noodles, whose tail was wagging flat out. He barked happily and I giggled. I noticed that Dimitri was watching me with a small smile on his face.

"What?" I said.

"Nothing." I shrugged it off and threw tinsel carelessly around the tree. "Well, at least everyone will know that you participated in putting up the Christmas tree," Dimitri murmured in amusement. He was obviously referring to my tinsel throwing.

We finished with the tinsel, Dimitri putting it on more carefully than I did. The ornaments that he bought were made of glass and were gorgeous. They were an assortment of colours and some had glitter glue on them, and reindeers, one even had a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. That one was my favourite. Last, but not least, was the golden star to put on the top of the tree. Dimitri was the only one tall enough to reach, but that didn't stop him from picking me up and assisting me with placing it on the very top. We did it together, symbolising our first Christmas as a couple.

It had taken us about an hour to set up our tree, and I had to admit that it looked pretty damn sexy. All the other Christmas trees would be jealous. Dimitri went to make himself a coffee whilst I sat down and played tug of war with Noodles. He was rapidly healing; those pain killers that the vet put him on must be helping with the process. His leg was still tender when he tried to walk on it and I knew it would be like that for the rest of the week. The cast bothered him and no matter how many times I scolded him for licking it, he couldn't resist. Noodles growled playfully at me and wagged his tail; I growled back and got on all fours, teasing him. Dimitri walked back in then and stopped in his tracks, almost spilling his coffee.

He was obviously trying to figure out what I was doing. I gave him a playful smile and then growled at Noodles again who barked back. "You worry me sometimes, Rose," Dimitri sighed as he went and sat down on the couch. After a few minutes of playing, Noodles grew bored and limped down the hall. He was probably in pain and wanted to sleep.

I joined Dimitri on the lounge and saw that he was watching a show about wedding planning. I laughed, "You're going soft on me, comrade."

"I want our wedding to be right, which reminds me. Did my mother call yesterday and confirm a date?"

"Yes, she did. We'll be getting married on the 11th of January." I couldn't keep the happiness from slipping into my voice as well as my pride. Never had I thought I would get married to anyone, let alone Dimitri.

"That's... sooner than I expected," he was a caught off guard and worry filled his face. "DO you think we'll have everything sorted by then?"

I nodded confidently. "I've got my dress, you have your suit, we have our wedding colour picked out which means I can get bridesmaid dresses for Liss, Vika and Mia. The chapel's date is set and all we need now is to find a reception place. Olena said it would be best if we got one early. Apparently people book events further ahead in Russia."

Dimitri nodded, "She's right. It would be best if we flew to Russia and personally looked for a place rather than have my mother run around for us. But, before we leave America, you have to see a doctor."

I frowned, "Why?"

"You're not getting on a plane unless we know that it's safe this early in your pregnancy."

"Yeah I guess so. When should we go?"

"Later today, preferably. But it's still really early; we should wait for the sun to set. That's usually when the clinic opens."

"Okay," I mumbled and snuggled up to his side. My earlier absence of sleep was starting to catch up with me. I managed to watch about half of the wedding show before Dimitri realised I was tired and laid me down on the couch before nuzzling up to my back and spooning me close.

...

"Karolina's getting married! Karolina's getting married!"

I jolted out of my sleep, startled. Dimitri grumbled behind me and sat up to see Viktoria bound into the lounge room. She had left the front door open in her excitement and an old Moroi couple stared in confusion. "Vika, close the door," Dimitri hissed at her, obviously feeling like our private moment was being invaded.

Dimitri reached for his shirt that hung on the back of our couch. He must have taken it off before snuggling up behind me. I felt groggy and disorientated and Viktoria launched into a rapid string of Russian. Dimitri didn't seem to have trouble keeping up with her. "What?" He cried.

"Karolina's getting married!" Vika said in English for my benefit.

"To who?" Dimitri's big brother side came out, even though Karolina was technically older than him.

"Nate Keilov. They've been dating for a while."

I sat up, careful not to strain my stomach too much. Dimitri noticed my struggle against the soft cushions of our lounge and helped me out. Once I was upright I yawned, rubbed my eyes and tried to express my congratulations. Dimitri seemed disgruntled that I accepted it so quickly. "Couldn't he have asked me before he proposed?" He grumbled.

I elbowed him in the side and shot him a glare. "Dimitri, your sister is getting married you should be happy for her."

He sighed, "I am. Really. But I just... I feel disrespected."

"Dimka, you're her brother not her father. He didn't have to ask you for her hand in marriage." Viktoria sympathised.

He nodded, "I know, but it just would have been nice if he did."

Viktoria came and gave him a hug, "We all love you, but sometime you're a little over protective."

"Tell me about it," I intervened.

Dimitri shot me a playful glare. "Whatever Rose, it's for your own good. By the way, I organised an appointment at the doctors while you were asleep."

"The doctors?" Viktoria asked with concern. "Why? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. Rose is pregnant."

I didn't have time to brace myself. An ear drum bursting scream filled our apartment and I was tackled to the ground. Dimitri immediately pulled Viktoria off of me and checked to make sure I was okay. I was shocked at her excitement.

"Vika, you have to be careful with her." Dimitri breathed as he cradled me on his lap.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so excited and happy for you both. I'm going to be an auntie... again!"

"It's okay. Oh, hey, I've been meaning to ask you something," I intervened.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I was wondering if... maybe you would like to be my bridesmaid."

Another excited squeal came out of her mouth, but she didn't touch me this time. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Oh my gosh. This is too many surprises in one day. I think I need to lie down," She whispered, placing a hand on her forehead.

Viktoria seemed to have a habit of becoming awestruck easily. Dimitri and I helped her lay down on the couch and laughed silently to ourselves. I couldn't wait to legally become her sister.


	21. Rose's Bridesmaids

**Wow, 3201 words in this chappy.**

**I wrote this one quicker to make up for my poor updating skills. I'm on school holidays now, so hopefully there will be more chapter updates.**

**I can't wait to get to Rose's wedding and for you all to meet Lev. I've already got him forming in my head :)**

**I also can't wait till she gets further on in her pregnancy, I think it will be interesting to write about.**

**& Please please please review.**

**Last chapter I only got five or so reviews and it was disappointing. I know it was boring, but still.**

**This chapter has a lot more going on and I felt like it would never end when I was writing it.**

**Bit of a lemon at the end, but it's not much. ENJOOOYYYYYY!**

* * *

_I couldn't wait to legally become her sister. _

Dimitri kept good on his promise to take me to see the doctor. I was exhausted, and protested, but he was having none of that. "Rose, if you don't start moving, I will carry you over my shoulder." He was using his stern voice, making me feel like a five-year-old.

"Ugh, fine." I shuffled along, dragging my feet. Dimitri sighed and picked me up. I squealed and people around us stared. It was a short walk to the clinic and Dimitri ignored my pleas for him to put me down. It wasn't until we got outside the doctor's door that he set me on my own two feet. "God, you're such a—"

The door opened and a Moroi man ushered us into his office. There was a bed, some medical equipment and an office desk with a computer and file cabinet. The pictures of drawings and butterflies on the walls told me that he was either a children's doctor or he had kids of his own. He appeared to be in his forties and had a kind, unjudging smile.

"You must be Rose," He stuck his hand out.

I hesitantly shook it. "Yeah, this is my fiancé Dimitri."

"Ah yes, we spoke on the phone!"

"Thank you for taking her in on such short notice," He said.

"It was no problem; I had a cancellation. Rose, my name is Dr. John Smith. I'll be your doctor throughout the duration of your pregnancy." He started searching through his file cabinet and pulled out a thin file with my name on it. "I understand that you have previously miscarried and I'm getting all of your medical history emailed to me from Dr. Olendzki back at the academy."

"Okay, so... what will we do now?" I asked.

"I'll weigh you, measure your height and waist line, take a blood test and do an ultra sound on your stomach. How far along are you?" He asked.

"Um, I only just found out yesterday... so, maybe about a week or so?"

"Alright, well the baby won't be very developed just yet, but it's best that we do a check up just to see that everything is coming along well. Now, onto the more difficult news..." He looked up from my file and gave me a sympathetic look. "Usually when women miscarry, there is a higher chance that it will happen again."

My heart broke and I glanced over at Dimitri, he gripped my hand and gave me a small smile of reassurance. His dark eyes told me that everything would be fine and he wouldn't let anything happen to me or our baby this time around. I took a deep breath and turned back to John, "Okay."

...

After he took all my tests, he left Dimitri and me alone for a few moments so he could go and get the portable ultra sound machine. The second the door closed, Dimitri was placing kisses all over my face and reassuring me that he would never let anything happen to me or bubba ever again. He kept chopping and changing between English and Russian, so it was kind of hard to understand him.

"Comrade, I'm fine. Really. I'll be careful this time. We know the dangers and precautions to take." He looked up at me with guilty eyes, "Don't you dare blame what happened on yourself. I thought we had moved on from that. None of us were to blame for losing the child and nothing has changed between us. _I love you_."

Dimitri nodded and gave me a soft kiss, all guilt leaving his features. "I love you more, Roza."

"I doubt that," I grinned just as the doctor returned.

"Okay," John said. "You ready to see your baby?"

I tried to settle the butterflies in my stomach and gripped Dimitri's hand. "I'm ready."

John lifted my shirt and squirted some freezing cold gel onto my stomach, I gasped and shivered. He brought the wand to my tummy and gently pushed it around, trying to get an image on the screen. It was all black and white and after squinting for a while, I determined that I couldn't see anything.

"Alright, so, it appears that you're about a week along. Just like you said. Your baby will just be a small clump of cells at the moments, at first it will develop tissue and hopefully in a few weeks will develop its first few organs."

"What type of foods should I stay away from while it's developing?" I asked.

"Absolutely no caffeine, which means no coffee, energy drinks or tea."

"No tea?" I whined.

"If you absolutely have to have tea then you can buy a caffeine-free brand, but nothing else. You can eat chocolate now, but once you start lactating then you'll have to stop."

"Why?" This would be harder than I thought.

"Chocolate affects the nutrients in your breast milk. You can start eating it again after your child becomes more dependent on bottled milk. "

"Okay."

"When will it be safe for her to fly?" Dimitri asked. "We're getting married in Russia in a few weeks time."

John nodded, "It should be relatively safe for her to fly on her third week of pregnancy."

"Oh good."

A flutter of excitement shot through me as I realised the reality of my situation. I asked if he could print off some pictures, enough to give one to Liss, my mum and Dimitri's family. He printed off four copies and wiped the gel from my stomach. Dimitri payed at the reception while I stared at the photo in wonder. That was our little angel, growing inside of me.

...

Dimitri took me home first and I stuck the ultra sound picture on the fridge. The doctor had told us to keep a timeline of my pregnancy, which meant taking photos of my weekly progress, and stick it all onto the fridge. I could hear Dimitri in the lounge room, waking up Viktoria who had slept on our couch this whole time. "Hey, prickles, get up!"

I giggled at the nickname and walked into the room. Noodles was licking Viktoria's face, "Don't call me that Dimka!"

"Why do you call her prickles?" I asked.

"When she was younger Sonya pushed her into a prickly bush. It took Mama hours to get them off of her."

I laughed, "Come on."

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"We have some bridesmaids shopping to do."

He groaned and I grabbed his arm. I had a lot of energy for someone who was tired about an hour ago. We all said goodbye to Noodles and left him sitting on the couch. Since Lissa lived down the hall, it was a quick trip. She screamed when she saw my ultra sound picture and when I told her that it was hers to keep, she almost passed out. They stuck it on the fridge, just like I had, and Lissa said goodbye to Christian. "Where are we gonna get the dresses from?"

"Slow down, princess." I smirked. "We need to get Mia first."

"I'm so excited," Vika gushed.

"Me too!" Lissa squealed. They started to talk excitedly about dresses and colours. When the word 'pink' was mentioned I came to a standstill.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't think so. You can have pink dresses at your wedding, hell; you can even have a pink horse with pigtails. But I will _not_."

Dimitri chuckled at my reaction and my friends looked stunned. "Oh okay," Viktoria mumbled.

I started walking again, "And anyway, the colour is red."

They both squealed again and flanked my sides, obviously thinking that I had some sort of idea of what the dresses would look like, which I clearly didn't. I was just going to walk into a shop, find the right colour and pick a dress I will like. When we reached Mia's apartment, I knocked loudly.

The door opened and Mia was rubbing her eyes, "Hey guys."

"Hey Mia, we're just about to go bridesmaid shopping," I explained.

"Oh," She said in slight confusion. "Well, have fun."

"Aren't you coming?" Lissa asked. I smirked, not having previously asked her to be a bridesmaid.

"Is this your crazy way of telling me that I'm in the bridal party?" She asked.

"Maybe..."

She squealed and pounced on me, but Dimitri and Lissa pulled her off, both of them drawing out the word, "No."

"What did I do?" She asked.

"Rose is pregnant," Dimitri told her. "We want to be careful this time."

Mia was clearly excited but hugged Lissa as a substitute of hugging me. I rolled my eyes, "Come on, I just want to get this over and done with."

...

I picked one of the larger bridal stores at court. It has a vast collection of bridesmaid dresses and I explained to the shop lady what kind of colour I was looking for. She pulled out a booklet of sample swatches and we found the perfect colour. It was called Crimson Red, and Dimitri and I both loved it. The lady showed us to a private dressing room, one covered in mirrors with a small stage and a large sofa. It looked similar to the room I had been in when I tried on the bridesmaid dress for Lissa's wedding. Dimitri and I curled up on the sofa and watched as the girls excitedly went off to choose their favourite dresses. All we had to do was sit here and judge them.

The first dress that the girls tried was a strapless gown that had a pleated bust and a chiffon skirt. It was nice, but nothing too memorable. It only went ankle length which made it look humorous and kind of embarrassing. I gave them thumbs down and they went back into the rooms to change.

The second dress made me cringe, immediately sending them back into the changing rooms. Dimitri chuckled, "That one was a little too... suggestive for my little sister to wear to our wedding." The third dress was a one shoulder, floor-length gown that had a gold underlay that was visible.

"That's nice," I told them.

"Nice? Rose this one is amazing," Mia said.

"I don't really like it that much."

They all sighed and I felt kind of bad that I kept rejecting their choices. Hopefully soon we would find a great dress. The next dress was pleated at the bust and had a huge red ribbon around it. Only Viktoria emerged, looking gleeful, until she realised the others didn't come out with her. This indicated that they didn't like the dress either. Dimitri yawned when the girls emerged again, and he made a strange face at it. "No, definitely not."

I laughed as I studied the halter neck. It was tight and revealing around the bust but flowed everywhere else. Dimitri and I told the girls to get changed while we searched for a dress. I look on endless racks of silk, satin, and chiffon. It just never ended.

"Rose? What about this one?" I walked around the rack I was looking at to see Dimitri holding up a floor-length gown made of chiffon and silk. It was strapless and the silk made a sash beneath the bust. It was simple yet elegant.

"Perfect," I smiled.

We all gathered at the check-out counter and I ordered three dresses, all of them to fit my bridesmaids. With the dresses finished, Dimitri ordered the groomsmen ties to match the silk of the bridesmaid dresses. After we had all our orders placed and made a deposit of cash, Lissa, Mia and Vika dragged me and Dimitri to a shoe shop. It took us twenty minutes to walk through the huge side. My three friends skipped off in excitement whilst Dimitri and I just calmly strolled down aisles and aisles of high-heeled shoes.

"Oh," I said when a pair of nude and silver strappy heels caught my eyes. They would go perfectly with the dresses that we had picked. I grabbed a pair that I knew would fit Lissa and got her to try them on. Viktoria and Mia went and picked their sizes and they all each volunteered to buy them with their own money. Well, not Vika. She tried to sucker Dimitri into buying them for her. He was such a softie when it came to his little sister.

While everyone paid, I shuffled over to the handbags and found the best clutch. It was silver and would match the silver straps on the heels. I grabbed three and walked over to the checkout. Dimitri and I brought them for the girls.

"Makeup and accessories is next," Lissa explained.

I groaned, just wanting to go home and snuggle up with Dimitri and a bucket of caramel ice cream. "Fine," I dragged them into the closest superstore that had everything, from guns to milk. We went to the makeup section and I picked out some nude colours to match the shoes. Lissa saw some cute crystal earrings that dangled on gold chains. They were expensive though, and when I told her that we couldn't afford it, she insisted that she would buy it, along with a cold plated cuff with swirls that would sit on their upper arms.

"Okay, that's it. Stop wasting your money on my wedding. I think we're done now." I whined, my legs starting to ache from standing around for so long.

"What about jackets?" Dimitri intervened.

"Jackets?"

"Its winter in Russia too you know. They'll freeze to death in those dresses."

"Alright..."

We all walked to the clothes section and I grabbed the first coat I found that went along with our colour scheme of accessories. It was a beige-nude colour and looked similar to a trench coat. There was a ribbon that tied it up around the waist and the length depended on the height of who was wearing it.

We all moved on to the check out in relief.

**[Pictures of everything on profile].**

...

Dimitri cooked me dinner that night. I sat on the bench beside him and watched as he heated up the stove and grabbed pots and pans out of the cupboard. He placed a pan on the stove to heat up and then poured a bit of olive oil in there.

"What's for dinner?"

"Spaghetti."

"Mmm," I moaned. My stomach grumbled and we both laughed. Dimitri chopped up some onions and threw them into the pan, browning them up before grabbing some mince out of the fridge. He sliced open the packaging and tipped the mince in. "Why do you cook the onions first?"

"Because once they mix with the meat it becomes harder for them to cook, which makes them crunchier."

I wrinkled my nose at the thought of raw onions in my food. He allowed the mince to cook whilst he grabbed some tinned tomatoes from the pantry and some tomato paste from the fridge. He added it all in, along with some pepper. The pot he had grabbed before was filled up with water and heating on the stove. When it started to bubble, he grabbed out two packets of pasta and asked me which one I would like. One of them was long and thin and the other was little tubes, I think they were called penne.

"The... tube things."

He opened the bag and added them into the boiling pot, before placing a lid on it. Dimitri stirred the mince and placed a lid on that too. "Okay. We'll leave it for ten minutes and then come back to eat." He lifted me off the counter and carried me into the lounge room. Noodles yapped at us. He was still sitting on the couch, his tongue sticking out. Despite being beaten twenty-four hours ago, he was quite a happy puppy.

"Crap," I said, "We forgot to get dog food and kitty litter."

"That's okay. The shops don't close till late tonight. I'll go down after dinner."

Thankfully last night's snow storm had left this morning and the news people said that it wouldn't be coming back anytime soon. I just felt sorry for the people that are getting it now. It was one hell of a storm. The human news held no interest for us, but we still watch it. It's usually the best thing on during the Moroi day since humans would be asleep about now. There was something about a riot in Canada just because they lost a hockey game, which made me crack up.

"They're supposed to be the world's most peaceful country; they don't even have an army! But oh no, let them lose a hockey game and all hell breaks loose." I laughed so hard that I needed to pee, urgently. I jogged to the toilet and heard Dimitri laughing at me. Noodles limped behind me and nudge the door open which I hadn't closed fully.

"Noodles," I complained. "You little perve!"

He barked at me and wiggled his tail. I washed my hands and jumped when arms slipped around my waist. "You're too beautiful, even the dog needs to get a peek."

I blushed and he turned me around, lifting me onto the bathroom counter and unbuttoning his pants. "A quickie?" I giggled.

He grunted in response and released me from my own jeans. We'd had sex like this before. It was back at the academy in the gym. We had almost got caught by Alberta and it was one of the funniest moments. Dimitri embraced his dirty side by passing a bunch of innuendos to an oblivious Alberta. I moaned when he entered me at such an intense angle. This clearly wouldn't take long. He was constantly hitting that magical spot faster and faster.

"Ah," I moved my head back a little as I convulsed and moved against him. Dimitri buried his face in my neck and continued to move. The feeling was so intense that I had a second orgasm, which was a first for me. And boy was it good. I now understood all the fuss of multiple orgasms. It was amazing!

Dimitri froze inside of me and held me tighter. He was silent as he found his release. We stayed there for a moment, just holding each other, still clothed. "I love you my beautiful, beautiful fiancé."

I smiled and pulled back enough to see his face. We embraced each other in a passionate kiss and despite feeling exhausted from our activities today and just now, I came alive. "I love you too Dimitri."


	22. Christmas Joy?

**Sorry about the delay, but my internet was down.**

**Also, school has returned. So I'm pretty busy with all that sort of stuff. I'm also writing a new fanfic that has an actual storyline, whereas with this story I just make it up as I go. I'm not sure when I'll be posting the new fanfic but I can tell you that it is extremely interesting and new, which means that no one else has done anything like it before. I'm actually going to give you guys a little sneak peek of it at the end of this chapter. So if you review, maybe I'll finish this story quicker and get along with my other one :)**

* * *

_I smiled and pulled back enough to see his face. We embraced each other in a passionate kiss and despite feeling exhausted from our activities today and just now, I came alive. "I love you too Dimitri."_

We spent the following week Christmas shopping. Noodles had quite a few presents sitting beneath our tree, and so did Lissa and Viktoria. Dimitri spoiled her... and me. There were quite a few presents under there with my name labelled on them too. I had also done my fair share of spoiling, buying Dimitri and Lissa a load of silly presents and then one very important one. Dimitri had persuaded me to get both of my parents something, so we were walking around the jewellery store. It was hard to find something that my mother would like when I barely know her.

"Comrade, why can't I just get her a box of chocolates or something?"

"Rose, she's your mother. I'm sure she got you something nice this year. And besides, she is staying for Christmas dinner tomorrow; it will make her feel more welcome." It was Christmas Eve and the shops were busy. Lots of rich Moroi men were in the jewellery store, buying gifts for their wife's, kids, girlfriends or even their whores. Dimitri tugged me away from the man I was currently scowling at. "Sorry," he apologised to the man. "She's pregnant."

The man nodded in understanding and went about his business. My jaw dropped. "Are you freaking kidding me? Is that some kind of inside man joke? Is that supposed to be funny? Just because I'm pregnant doesn't make me a moody little cow!" I hissed.

"Rose, please don't make a scene here."

"Make a scene?" I laughed. "I'm not making a scene. You're the one being an ignorant jerk!"

"Rose please," he looked around at the attention we attracted.

"You know what? Screw this. Since you're all of a sudden best friends for life with my mother then why don't you buy her Christmas present?" I threw my wallet at him and stormed out of the store. I may have over-reacted, but I've been really stressed out lately. It felt good to take my frustrations out on someone, even if that someone was my loving fiancé. We were getting married in two weeks and I've been worried about having everything sorted in time. We have most the things done, but we still have to fly to Russia and book a reception place on short notice, which will be difficult.

It was snowing outside and groundskeepers worked hard to keep it off of the paths so that they could find ice patches and pour salt on them. I watched one poor man shovelling away and gripping his back in obvious pain. A surge of compassion flowed through me and I headed in his direction, wanting to take the burden off of his shoulders and help out. It was a strange thought, but I rolled with it. Unfortunately, I wasn't watching where I was going and slipped, falling onto my backside. I grunted as pain shot up my back.

"Rose!"

"Shit," I muttered before turning to see Dimitri running towards me. He helped me up and I rubbed my butt.

"Are you insane?" He said, pulling me into a bone crushing hug.

Tears sprung to my eyes from the pain. "Take me home," I whimpered.

He hoisted me into his arms and carried me the short distance to our apartment. I tried not to cry, but my lower back was really starting to hurt. "I'm sorry that I called you an ignorant jerk," I whispered.

"It's okay Roza." He set me down so that he could grab his set of house keys from his pockets. "I'm sorry that I accused you of making a scene."

"I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"You're stressed out. You need to vent your anger someway. It's not good to bottle it up," He assured me, lifting me up again and carrying me over the threshold and kicking the door shut.

"But you're so nice to me, and all you've done all week is tried to help me out and make things easier for me. You didn't deserve it."

"Rose, its fine. I forgot our fight the moment I saw you slip over."

Dimitri walked into the bedroom and laid me down on the bed. "I'm still sorry."

"Me too," He kissed my forehead. "Are you in pain?"

"A little. It's not as bad as when it first happened."

"I'll get you a heat pack and some pain killers."

"And Noodles?" I asked.

He smiled. "And Noodles."

I shifted into a more comfortable position while Dimitri went and collected the medical stuff and our puppy. The fluffy pillows that I loved so much were piled behind my back and I settled back into them, sighing in relief and pleasure. Dimitri returned, carrying our happy little bundle of joy. His tongue hung out of his mouth and his floppy ears were straight up. He yapped at me and wagged his tail. Dimitri gently placed him on the bed and watched as Noodles limped over to me, cuddling up to my side like a cat.

"Awe," I cooed. "Did you give him his pain meds this morning?"

"Of course. I don't forget things like you do," Dimitri smirked and walked around to my side. He gently lifted my hips so he could place the heat pack beneath my lower back. "Here's _your_ pain medication. I'll go get you a glass of water."

"Thanks."

...

After about an hour of resting, the pain in my lower back and butt had disappeared and I felt as good as new. I followed the wonderful smell that wafted through our apartment, carrying Noodles in my arms, and came to a halt in the kitchen. My gorgeous fiancé was cooking us dinner.

"Smells good," I commented.

"You're up."

"I feel loads better."

"That's good. Do you want to grab some bowls? It's almost ready."

I set Noodles down and grabbed two bowls and also the dog bowl. We had bought Noodles a food and water dish and also a kitty litter box for him to pee in. We've been trying to potty-train him but he is as stubborn as me and just won't learn. The other day he peed in the lounge room and the carpet still smells foul, no matter how many times we scrub it with bleach. Dimitri filled up our bowls while I scooped out some dog food.

"Come on, Noodles." I murmured. He followed me at a limp into the dining room. I set down his food dish and patted his head before walking back to the kitchen. Dimitri had grabbed a beer from the fridge to enjoy with his dinner, but he also poured me some orange juice.

We sat down at the dining table, across from each other. "What should we drink to?" I asked, picking up my glass.

"Our first Christmas together as a family."

We tapped my glass with his beer bottle then took a sip. "Merry Christmas, comrade."

...

The next morning was amazing. I didn't have morning sickness holding me back and the excitement of Christmas was in the air. I shook Dimitri awake. He grumbled something unintelligible and went back to sleep.

"_Wake up_, it's Christmas."

"Rose..."

"No, come on."

I jumped out of bed, feeling stiffness in my lower back from my fall yesterday, but I wouldn't let that slow me down today. I made a beeline for the kitchen and quickly made Dimitri a cup of coffee, racing it to him and then rushing him out of bed and into the living room, where our Christmas tree stood. He sat down on the floor beside me and sipped his coffee. "Okay, you go first."

"Wait. Noodles!" I called our puppy, wanting him to be here when we opened the presents. Our sleepy pug limped his way into the room and onto my lap. "Okay, now." I said in jittery excitement.

Dimitri laughed and grabbed one of my presents from beneath the tree. "Merry Christmas, Roza." He leaned forward and gave me a sloppy, half-awake kiss. When he pulled back, I grabbed the back of his neck and brought him back. He chuckled against my mouth but pushed me away. "Later."

I looked down at the gold wrapping of a rectangular present. It had a bow on it and a label with my name on it and Dimitri's and also a bunch of kisses and hugs. I smiled and tore open the paper. He truly was thoughtful. Dimitri must have remembered one of our first intimate moments back at the academy. It was when he had bought me some lip gloss and we almost kissed. Well, today he had gotten me a rectangular box with different flavoured lip gloss. They were fruity flavours, my favourite.

"Thanks comrade," I laughed.

We kissed, and I set the present aside. I went to grab the wrapping paper, but noticed that it was already gone. Noodles had taken it and he sat in the corner, tearing it up. Dimitri quickly jumped up and scolded him, "Bad puppy."

"Awe, daddy's being mean to you," I cooed, taking him from Dimitri's arms.

"Don't encourage him, Rose."

"But look at his wittle face," I pouted and gave him puppy eyes at the same time as our dog.

Dimitri groaned and grabbed another present, handing it to me although the label said Noodles. I helped him open it up and he quickly took the chew toy and limped off, obviously thinking that we would take it from him. I giggled.

"Here," I grabbed one of Dimitri's presents and passed it to him. "Your mother sent it to me from Russia. She wanted me to give it to you."

Dimitri carefully opened it up and glanced at what was inside, not doing anything for a silent moment. Finally, he picked up the small box and opened it. I saw his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed. I didn't know if that was a good sign or not. He lifted the thin leather necklace from the box and studied the pendant on it. Olena told me that it symbolises our relationship. A love heart and a rose. Apparently it was tradition in their family for the man getting married to wear a necklace with a heart and something that symbolises their other half. It doesn't happen very often in their family, which is why this moment was so special.

He picked up a small card and read it under his breath while I waited. Eventually Dimitri passed me the necklace and tied up his hair. "Can you tie it up?"

"Of course," I shuffled around and knelt behind him. I did a tight knot so that it won't ever come off. Dimitri twisted and pulled me around to sit across his lap.

"I love you."

I touched the silver love heart pendant on his new necklace and smiled. "I love you more. I can't wait until we're married."

"Rosemarie Belikova," Dimitri mused.

"Belikova?" I questioned.

"It's tradition for a woman to put an 'a' on the end of her husband's last name. But you don't have to if you don't want to. But if we have a daughter than she will have to be a Belikova."

I shrugged, "At least after we're married I'll have a different guardian name to you."

"Would you like to see your wedding ring?" He asked.

"You have one? I thought I was just going to wear my engagement ring."

Dimitri shook his head. "I wanted to buy you one. To symbol a new start."

He lent forward and grabbed a tiny wrapped present that I _had_ been a little suspicious of before. I tore it open and Dimitri took over from there, gently opening the velvet box. I gasped. It was a gold ring with three diamonds nestled on the band; it was quite simple but had enough sparkle to make it look sophisticated. "I'm going to cry," I whispered, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.

"Don't you like it?" Dimitri looked hurt.

"No... I love it."

Relief showed on his face and he snapped the box shut. "Good. But you won't get to see it again until the wedding."

"Dimitri it is perfect for me."

"I thought so."

...

Luckily for us, there was one shop that didn't close on Christmas day and we quickly went down and bought a bouquet of flowers and a card for my mother. I did kind of feel bad that I didn't get her anything, but my guilt eased once we arrived back home. Christmas dinner would be at Lissa's place, so Dimitri and I showered together—which resulted in some rather nice foreplay—and then we got dressed. I applied a light amount of makeup and then grabbed our camera so that we could take photos of our whole family.

We exited our apartment and came to a standstill when we saw Viktoria pushed up against a wall and Eddie ravaging her in kisses. I cleared my throat and Dimitri's grip on my hand tightened. Vika blushed and Eddie quickly turned pale when he saw the look on Dimitri's face. "Well," I stated, trying to break the ice. "This is awkward."

"Just a little," Vika agreed.

"Come on Vika, Lissa's waiting."

I decided to give Dimitri some room, but not before elbowing him in the side as a warning to be nice to Eddie. Vika and I left the boys out in the hall and walked the few feet to Lissa's door. She greeted us with excitement, but that excitement turned to nerves when she saw Eddie and Dimitri talking down the hall. It's Christmas, and I trust Dimitri not to mess it up by beating Eddie. He knew that they were together, in fact, he has known for a long time. But I guess he just ignored it up until now.

* * *

**Did you enjoy it? Do you think Dimitri will kill Eddie :P?**

**As Promised, here is a sneak peek of my new fanfic in progress _Blood Bond_:**

_"Dimitri," I whispered. But before I could stop myself, the overwhelming desire for his blood came back and Dimitri cried out as my newly acclaimed fangs pierced his skin. We both moaned simultaneously in pleasure. It tasted as good as I first thought, if not better. Nothing in the world could ever compare to drinking Dimitri's blood. It was warm, thick and tasted vaguely like honey._

_When I felt satisfied, I pulled back and licked all the blood away from his neck. Dimitri's forehead was resting on my shoulder and he looked to be in a slightly blissful state. He straightened up and looked at me. His lazy fingers pushed my lips apart so that he could see my fangs._

_"You... you have..." Dimitri was at a loss for words. His face was an inch from mine and one simple touch of my hand to his shoulder convinced him to continue in our heated make-out session. Dimitri's blood was smeared around my lips and the moment he tasted it, he moaned. Warm wet kisses were trailed down my neck again and I almost screamed in pleasure when the most wonderful sensation spread from my neck._

**Hehe. Do you like it so far? There will be lots of action, fluff and lemons throughout. Oh and there is a fight between Lissa and Rose.**

**Review and tell me what you think :)**


	23. AN

**Sorry guys but this story is on hold yet again. My laptop is broken and I had it sent to Melbourne to be fixed and it was gone for about a month and now that I have it back I realise that they actually haven't fixed the problems, which means there won't be anymore updates for another few weeks while we send it away again. Also, my new story 'Blood Bond' was posted a few weeks ago and I'm not sure if you guys have seen it. So, between my broken computer, no internet connection and hectic exams at school, I can't guarantee another update anytime soon. But don't worry. I'm not giving up on this story until the last word is written (:**

**Im so so so so so sorry and I would like to thank you all for sticking with me.**


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